PDF 12MB - Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team

ARRY OAK LEAFLET 

newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadouu Preservation Society January 1997, Vol.1, Mo. I 

Yale Garry oaks to be protected 

By Katie Stewart 

The November-December 1996 issue of the B.C. Natu 

ralist, magazine of the Federation ofBritish Columbia Natu 

ralists (FBCN), contains an article about the provincial gov 

ernment's Protected Area Strategy (PAS) for the Lower 

Mainland. 

Of special interest to GOMPS members is the inclusion 

in the PAS of a 5-ha area near Yale which contains a rare 

stand of Garry oaks. 

Elaine Golds represented the FBCN as a member of the 

Regional Public Advisory Committee which also included 

representatives from the forest, mining and tourism indus 

tries, conservation and outdoor recreation groups, labour 

MILLIKEN-ESILAO 

LOCALITY 

KILOMETRES 

Milliken site (DJRi 3) Contour interval 5Om 

A2 Esilao site (DjRl 5) Road 

Railway 

MAP OF MILLIKEN site location (close to the stand of 

Yale Garry oaks) in the lower Fraser Canyon. 

J Map supplied courtesy of Dr. Bert Brink 

and the provincial government. 

I was able to contact Ms Golds to ask her how the Yale 

Garry oak came to be protected. She gave me the phone 

number of Bert Brink, a retired U.B.C. professor who was 

honored in 1993 on his 80th birthday for his long-time in 

volvement in conservation issues when B.C. Parks named a 

meadow in Garibaldi Park after him. 

In a phone conversation with Dr. Brink I learned that the 

5-ha area identified includes not only the Garry oak stand 

but also the nearby Milliken archeological site, which is the 

oldest site in B.C. and possibly North America. The protec 

tion proposal was accepted unanimously. 

The Milliken site had been studied by the late Dr. Carl 

Borden in the 1960s. Dr. Brink said that it is an interesting 

site geologically; at the time first human settlement occurred, 

maritime waters were very close to the entrance to the Fraser 

Canyon. 

He said, "it is quite a magnificent site. The oaks are close 

to the point you leave the Fraser Canyon and break away 

into the open area." Many are on the east side of canyon 

and are not very accessible 

Dr. Brink also mentioned that Mike Meagher, a retired 

forester, is conducting studies on the Sumas and Yale oaks. 

He will be studying the enzyme pattern among Garry oak 

bud samples taken from a number of locations on Vancou 

ver Island, the Gulf Islands and the two mainland locations. 

The Yale Garry oaks are one of two identified sites of 

Garry oaks on the mainland. Another small grove is located 

near Abbotsford on Sumas Mountain. There are not as many 

oaks at this site and development is fast encroaching. 

Both sites are presumed to be man-originated. Dr. Brink 

thinks acorns were brought from the south (i.e. range where 

Garry oaks occur) or from southern Vancouver Island by 

aboriginal peoples. The oldest trees pre-date Caucasian set 

tlement and are 300 years or older. 

Dr. Borden thought oaks were from the post-glacial pe 

riod, on site 4500 years ago, said Dr. Brink. 

Of historical interest is the fact that the oaks were men 

tioned in an account of the Royal Engineers building a road 

through the Fraser canyon, written by Chief Engineer 

Anderson. 

Continued on page 2 

Garry Oak Leaflet 

I

There is still some aboriginal settle 

ment not far away and native fisMng 

platforms can be seen below the high 

way. Dr. Brink hopes that approval for 

erecting a kiosk alongside the Trans 

Canada Highway across the river from 

the site will be approved. Benefactors 

have already offered to fund this. 

The Yale Indian Band will be in 

volved in the wording of the sign, said 

Dr. Brink, and in the protection proc 

ess. 

Q 

To get to the oaks, it is necessary to 

go by inflatable boats from Yale and 

land on a sandbar, but not in freshet 

season. Dr. Brink was about to set out 

the day following our conversation 

(November 20), to guide some 

Vancouverites to the site. 

Some of Victoria's local botanists 

have also visited the Yale site. Adolf 

and Oluna Ceska told me how they had 

crossed the Fraser River by boat (not 

an inflatable) and had to walk/run 

through a long dark tunnel, always 

looking behind them in case a train 

came along. 

Dr. Brink said the nearest mainland 

Garry oak grove is along Chuckanut 

Drive south of Bellingham, the old 

Highway 99 that used to follow the 

Pacific coast. 

Dr. Brink mentioned that 

FLGlendenning, an entomologist at the 

Agricultural Research Station at 

Agassiz had done a study on the Yale 

Garry oaks in the 1930s. 

Mr. Glendenning published an arti 

cle on the oaks in the March-April 1944 

The Canadian Field Naturalist. My 

photocopy of this article (below) came 

from Dr. Briony Penn. 

The Garry Oak In British 

Columbia 

An Interesting Example of Discontinuous Distribution 

By R. Glendenning 

Several years ago while studying 

[George B.] Sudworth's Forest Trees 

ofthe Pacific Slope published in 1908, 

I became interested in a footnote on the 

distribution of the Garry oak in British 

Columbia viz, "An isolated grove on 

the northwest end ofVancouver Island 

on Quatsino Sound, and another on the 

Fraser River 1 1/2 miles above Yale." 

As I had failed to notice any oaks 

near Yale though frequently passing 

through this area, and as the above 

records were doubted by later authors 

who quoted Sudworth, I decided to 

substantiate or disprove them, and to 

run these records to their original 

sources. It has been very interesting 

work. 

The oaks were eventually found to 

exist at Yale nearly one hundred miles 

from the main area of distribution, and 

were found to have increased from a 

ugrove" to a permanent part of the flora 

of considerable extent. 

I have been unable to verify the 

Quatsino record either by visit or cor 

respondence, but my enquiries on oaks 

led to the location of an unrecorded, 

isolated colony on Sumas Mountain 

near Chilliwack. 

Apart from the original discoverer of 

these records, interest lies in the pecu 

liar incidence and method of dispersal 

of these outliers far from the main area 

of Garry oak occurrence, that at Yale 

being 80 air miles distant, that at Sumas 

40 miles, while Quatsino Sound lies at 

least 110 miles from the nearest oaks 

on the east coast ofVancouver Island. 

Distribution 

The Garry oak, Quercus Garryana 

Douglas, was described by its author 

in 1939, the type locality being given 

as 'Tlentifiil on plains near Ft. Vancou 

ver, on the Multnomah, and at Puget 

Sound" (Piper — Flora ofthe State of 

Washington, 1906). Sudworth in his 

Forest Trees ofthe Pacific Slope, 1908 

says "Described originally from plains 

around Vancouver on the mainland but 

not seen there since." 

But as Whitford and Craig point out 

in their book The Forests of British 

Columbia (Commission of Conserva 

tion 1918), there are no plains around 

Vancouver, B.C. and evidently 

Sudworth mistook Vancouver, B.C. for 

Vancouver, Washington. 

It is worthy to remark here that al 

though no Garry oaks occur in or 

around Vancouver, the madrona Arbu 

tus menziesii, which occupies a very 

similar range through the Pacific area, 

occurs plentifully on the warm rocky 

shore line ofWest Vancouver, and scat 

tered individuals still stand in Vancou 

ver itself. 

The Garry oak is the only species of 

Quercus that occurs in British Colum 

bia. As at present known, the distribu 

tion of Q. garryana extends from Santa 

Cruz mountains in California north 

ward through Oregon and Washington, 

gradually being confined to the coastal 

area at the northward limit of its range 

in Washington and British Columbia 

Its northward limit on the mainland, 

with the two exceptions to be discussed 

later, is at Fairhaven Bluff on the coast 

some five miles south of the town of 

Bellingham, U.S.A., and 20 miles from 

the international boundary at Blaine. 

On Vancouver Island it is local but 

plentiful on the warm rocky shoreline 

of the south eastern portion, from the 

southern tip at Victoria, north as far as 

Comox, and on the adjacent islands in 

the Gulf of Georgia. It extends a few 

miles inland where dry well-drained 

slopes occur, but then seems to be 

choked out by the dense coniferous 

forest. 

The record for Quatsino Sound, if 

authentic, is the only station on the west 

coast of Vancouver Island. 

Origin of the Yale Record 

It was tolerably certain that Sudworth 

had not discovered nor even visited the 

isolated Yale stand, but he gave no 

source for his information in The For- 

e 

Garry Oak Leaflet

est Trees ofthe Pacific Slope, However, 

after some search, a reference to these 

oaks in very similar words was found 

in [John] Macoun's Catalogue of Ca 

nadian Plants, Part III 1986. 

But Macoun evidently had not vis 

ited this stand as he gives Dawson as 

his authority for the record. 

Now Dawson (G.M.) was primarily 

a geologist, and it would be a very ob 

servant botanist even, who would no 

tice a few oak trees amidst the wild ter 

rain surrounding Yale; it was therefore 

extremely doubtful if he was the pio 

neer discoverer, especially as no speci 

mens of the Garry oak collected by 

Dawson are extent in the National Her 

barium at Ottawa. 

Further enquiry was finally rewarded 

by the location of the following pas 

sage by Dawson in the Geological Sur 

vey Report for 1879-80, entitled, 

tcNotes of the Distribution of Some of 

the More Important Trees of British 

Columbia." 

Referring to the Garry oak, he says: 

"Flourishes in the south-eastern portion 

of Vancouver Island though Mr. C.A. 

Anderson mentions the existence of a 

few trees a mile and a half above Yale 

on the Frazer River, and these Mr. 

Cambie informs me are still to be 

seen." 

Here then was the probable discov 

erer and original recorder, Mr. C.A. 

Anderson of the Hudson Bay Com 

pany, and this point has been amply 

proved by reference to his writing, viz., 

The Domain of the West; a brief de 

scription of the province of British 

Columbia, its climate and resources, 

1872; Notes on North-western 

America, 19876; and History of the 

Northwest Coast, 1878. 

In all these writings, Mr. Anderson 

mentions seeing oaks, his earliest ref 

erence being to 1847, when a score of 

small trees — with one specimen hav 

ing a trunk one foot in diameter, are 

mentioned, but as early as 1876, even 

he doubted if they still remained, as 

evidenced by his remark, " — unless 

they may have been considerably 

spared for their rarity, it is now ques 

tionable whether any now remain." 

Mr. Walter B. Anderson of Victoria, 

son of Alexander Caulfield Anderson, 

and like him a keen observer of all natu 

ral phenomena, has informed me that 

he well remembers his father speaking 

of the Yale oaks. 

Unfortunately Mr. C.A. Anderson's 

manuscripts, like others dealing with 

the early history of the Pacific North 

west, were "borrowed" by Bancroft, 

the Californian historian and have re 

mained in California ever since; 

whether further details of the oaks were 

given or not, I cannot say. 

Origin of the Quatsino 

Sound Record 

As far as the writer knows, 

Sudworth's is the earliest record for this 

location, but as with Yale, he gives no 

authority for his statement. Whether he 

visited Quatsino or not, I do not know. 

I have been unable to find any further 

reference, and neither Macoun nor 

Dawson mentions it. 

Origin of the Sumas 

Mountain Record 

As far as is known, this location was 

first mentioned in an article by the au 

thor in the Forestry Chronicle, Decem 

ber 1934. 

The site was visited by Mr. J.W. 

Winson of Huntingdon and the writer 

in 1933 as a result of information given 

to Mr. Winson by A.E. Humphrey, 

Land Surveyor of Chilliwack. 

Further inquiry has revealed the fact 

that the original discoverer of this 

colony was a homesteader named John 

MacKay who lived nearby, and who 

went to the mountain seeking hard 

wood for farm implement repairs. 

Vine maple, Acer circinatum or dog 

wood, Cornus nuttallii were generally 

used in pioneer days for this purpose, 

but finding oak, he told his friends and 

the information has lingered. This was 

approximately 40 years ago, but no 

data is available as to the size of the 

trees at that time. 

As noted later when describing this 

colony, the age of the oldest tree was 

given as 35 in 1933, and while MacKay 

and friends have chopped down some 

slightly older trees, these were not 

found on the occasion of our visit. 

Data on the Yale colony 

This site was first visited in 1933 

when the oaks were readily found by 

following the directions of an old pros 

pector, resident of Yale. 

The exact location of the colony is 

roughly one and one-half miles north 

of the town of Yale on the opposite 

bank of the Fraser River. At this point 

a cable spans the river which here lies 

in a deep narrow canyon with cliffs 

some 200 feet high. The closely adja 

cent mountains rise steeply to approxi 

mately 4,000 feet and form a deep 

gorge. 

The oaks occur on a broad promon 

tory between the Canadian National 

Railway and the river, and also on an 

adjacent hillside. 

In 1935 they covered almost 30 

acres, and are sparsely intertwined with 

broad-leaved maple Acer 

macrophyllum Pursh; Douglas-fir 

Pseudotsuga taxifolia (Poir.) Britt.; 

western birch Betula occidentalis 

Hook.; wild cherries Prunus virginiana 

L. van demissa (Torn & Gray) Torr; 

and P. emarginata (Hook.) Walp. and 

the juniper Juniperus scopulorum Sarg. 

The plant association is typical of the 

oak environments elsewhere, a drier 

type of the prevailing Humid Transi 

tion zone. There are several hundred 

trees of varying ages extending for 

about a half a mile along the foot of 

the mountain, all within 100 yards of 

the left bank of the Fraser. 

None occur, or at least none were 

found on the right bank where the Ca 

nadian Pacific railway tracks and the 

Cariboo Highway run, although at this 

point the river is only about 60 yards 

wide and a similar environment ob 

tains. 

From information received from the 

local Canadian National railway sec 

tion foreman, an additional colony may 

exist at Stout, formerly Saddle Rock, 

on the Canadian National railway some 

six miles north of the Yale stand. The 

trees are not visible from the Cariboo 

Highway, even through binoculars, so 


Garry Oak Leaflet 3

Continued from page 4 

probably are much younger and fewer 

than those near Yale. 

From the general composition of the 

colony near Yale, it would appear that 

the stand is gradually spreading south 

ward, the oldest trees occurring on the 

highest part of the promontory at the 

north end. 

In a preliminary notice published in 

the Forestry Chronicle in December 

1934, the age of the oldest tree found 

was estimated at 80 years. A subse 

quent visit in 1935 revealed a much 

older tree when the age of this, and the 

previously examined trees, was deter 

mined closely by means of an incre 

ment borer. 

The oldest tree, evidently the parent 

of the entire colony, is growing on the 

top of a dry rocky ridge about 200 yards 

north of the cable way. In 1935 it was 

22 inches in diameter, had lost a large 

limb, and gave other indications of 

considerable age. 

It was impossible to bore to the cen 

tre of this tree owing to the hardness 

of the heart-wood, but six inches ofboring 

showed 105 annual rings. A con 

servative estimate of the number of 

rings would therefore make this tree at 

least 175 years old in 1935. 

From the poor, rocky environment, 

and from the fact that oaks are prover 

bially slow growing in youth, it is prob 

able that 200 years would not be an 

excessive age to ascribe to this tree. 

This would be in good agreement with 

data given in "Sudworth" for dimen 

sions and ages of trees of this species, 

as he gives the age of one tree 19 inches 

in diameter as 183 years, and a second 

of 27 inches as 251 years. 

This dates the germination of the 

parent of the Yale colony back to A.D. 

1760 or before, which ante-dates by 

many years the advent of Europeans 

to this area. 

Haifa dozen trees were found whose 

age was 60 to 75 years, and several 

dozen from 30 to 35 years old. There 

were hundreds of younger trees of 

varying ages besides the usual scrub 

oaks arising from suckers. Natural re 

production from seed was prolific and 

1 Garry Oak Leaflet 

acorns were plentiful. Insect pests were 

conspicuous by their absence. No dead 

trees or rotten stumps that could be 

identified as oaks were found, though 

search was made. No evidences of fire 

were visible even on the boles of large 

balsam and fir trees from two to three 

hundred years old growing nearby. 

It would appear, therefore, from the 

above evidence that the colony is defi 

nitely an outlier from the main distri 

bution area of comparatively recent 

origin, and not a relict of a former 

wider distribution. 

Data on the Sumas 

Mountain Colony 

The location of this stand is on the 

southern slope of Sumas Mountain one 

mile west ofthe main pumping station. 

It can be reached by walking down the 

old Canadian National Railway right 

of way. This location is approximately 

35 miles from Fairhaven, the nearest 

point of the main distribution area, and 

60 miles from the Yale occurrence. 

The site is on a rocky spur running 

down what used to be Sumas Lake be 

fore reclamation; there are several 

similar spurs on this southern slope but 

the oaks were found only on this one. 

There are some 30 or 40 trees here, 

the oldest not over 35 years of age in 

1933. As at Yale no evidences were 

found of older trees so it would appear 

that is a recent colony and not a relict. 

The older trees are about 250 feet 

above the level land at the base of the 

mountain; younger trees about 10 years 

old occurred lower down. As at Yale 

the flora here is a typical dry arid tran 

sition, but competition from conifers 

and broad leaved deciduous trees is 

probably more pronounced. 

Data on the Quatsino 

Sound Colony 

As stated above, I have been unable 

to visit Quatsino Sound but have cor 

responded with Mr. G. H. Waller, For 

est Ranger for this district. He states 

that he has been unable to locate any 

oaks in this area, but has contacted an 

old settler who said that a few trees did 

exist at one time on the south shore of 

the main inlet. As this area has been 

logged off, this may account for their 

apparent disappearance. However, Mr. 

Waller rather doubts his informant, and 

also doubts if Garry oaks have existed 

here within the memory of white men. 

As the shoreline of this extensive 

inlet is over 100 miles in length, it still 

possible that intensive search would be 

worthwhile. 

Quatsino Sound is 110 air miles 

northwest from the northern limit of 

oaks on Vancouver Island at Comox, 

and in view of the Yale and Sumas lo 

cations, there would be nothing surpris 

ing in a stand at this point. 

If the origin of Sudworth's reference 

could be traced, more light might be 

thrown on the occurrence. 

Mode of Origin 

the Colonies 

of 

As pointed out above, the entire ab 

sence of dead or fallen trees, or rotting 

stumps at both Yale and Sumas would 

indicate that these colonies are in all 

probability more or less extensions 

from the main distribution area. 

The absence of other colonies in the 

many suitable environments that occur 

on the lower mainland would also sup 

port this contention. But by what means 

were the original acorns transported to 

this site? 

As the Yale stand ante-dates Euro 

pean explorers in these parts by many 

years, this source must be ruled out. 

Indians in all probability frequented the 

site of the Yale colony occasionally on 

their annual fishing expeditions, but the 

site at Sumas would not have been an 

Indian camping place, and I have the 

authority of Mr. W.B. Anderson for the 

statement that the local Indians do not, 

and never have, used acorns for food; 

therefore they had no reason to carry 

them long distances. 

Wind and water are out of the ques 

tion for physical and geographical rea 

sons, thus leaving only mammals or 

birds.Of these, only the Band-tailed pi 

geon Colwnbafosciata, say, or possi 

bly the Mourning dove, Zenaida 

macroura (Linn.) would be capable of 

transporting acorns such a distance 

without injuring them. Squirrels, jays

and crows would have been limited to 

a few hundred yards as carriers and in 

any large animal, the digestive organs 

would destroy acorns before voiding. 

The crop of the Band-tailed pigeon, 

however, is a suitable receptacle, and 

it is well known that these pigeons feed 

exclusively on oak mast, and 100 miles 

is not too far for these birds to fly be 

fore digestion occurs. 

Band-tailed pigeons are still common 

birds in these parts, moving erratically 

considerable distances, being here to 

day and gone tomorrow. 

The suggestion that pigeons are re 

sponsible for the inception of these oak 

colonies far from the main body ap 

pears to be the only explanation that 

fits all of the facts on the cases de 

scribed above, but of course is only an 

unproven theory. 

Acknowledgments 

I am greatly indebted to the follow 

ing gentlemen for their assistance in 

this investigation. 

Mr. W.B. Anderson of Victoria, son 

of the discoverer of the Yale oaks for 

confirmation of several facts relative 

to this work. Mr. J. W. Eastham of Van 

couver and Mr. Herbert Groh of Ottawa 

for time spent looking up references in 

scarce publications. Mr. G.H. Waller 

of Port Hardy for information on the 

Quatsino record, and to Mr. J.W. 

Winson of Huntingdon for stimulating 

criticism, useful information on the 

Sumas occurrence, and pleasant com 

pany on the several trips of explora 

tion needed to obtain the data presented 

here. And to Dr. J.M. Swaine, Direc 

tor of Science Service, I am also in 

debted for the encouragement given to 

pursue this enquiry. 

A flight of less than one hour after 

feeding, some accident — an Indian 

arrow or attack by a hawk — and the 

acorn-stuffed crop would be spilled and 

an embryo oak colony would be 

underway. 

While, doubtless, the chances for 

such a combination of fortuitous cir 

cumstances may seem small, when we 

consider the time factor and the im 

mense number ofpigeons in past ages, 

the odds are not so remote. 

Two records relevant to the above 

theory might be mentioned. Scott 

Elliott, in a work on seed dispersal, 

quotes Reid for the suggestion that the 

oak woods of England arose after the 

ice age by acorns transported from 

France by birds. 

Then, in a recent number of the Jour 

nal of the Royal Horticultural Society 

of England, some extracts were given 

from David Douglas's account of his 

collecting trips for that Society in 1824 

in what is now Oregon. 

In speaking of Castanea 

(Castanopsis) chrysophllya, one of the 

chinquapins native to Oregon and Cali 

fornia, he says "The fruit is delicious 

and abundant, and forests composed of 

this timber during the season of fruit 

teem with Ursus, Cerrus and 

Colwnbae, of the latter I have killed 

several birds more than 200 miles dis 

tant from the nearest point where they 

could obtain seed, and found in the crop 

abundance of fruit which I ate and 

found good." 

If chinquapins could be so carried 

and still be edible, why not acorns? 

LETTER TO THE LEAFLET 

Re: GOMPS and conservation cov 

enants, December 1996 Garry Oak 

Leaflet 

I would like to comment briefly re 

garding GOMPS and conservation cov 

enants and excerpts from a letter from 

R. M. Sharp, which appeared therein. 

According to Sharp, "trust is earned" 

and I couldn't agree more. 

I wonder whose trust he refers to and 

who is required to earn it. In today's 

political climate, one could be forgiven 

for believing it is the politicians who 

must earn the public trust. But if this 

were the case, all levels of government 

would be eager to enter into covenants 

as a means to achieve public trust. 

Cynical perhaps, but realistic. 

Backpedalling by Saanich and its 

opposition to the covenant process 

therefore reflects their distrust of the 

public! I find it ironic that bureaucrats 

and politicians with obvious pecuniary 

stakes in public policy distrust public 

groups which, in many cases, are rec 

ognized by the federal government as 

wholly non-partisan and charitable in 

purpose. 

CALENDAR 

Yes, trust must be earned. Public 

groups have already demonstrated their 

trustworthiness to the highest author 

ity in the land. On the other hand, 

Sharp's letter seems more like another 

slap in the face than an admission of 

fault. 

Eric Redekop, 

Victoria. 

NATIVE PLANT STUDY GROUP — Thursday, January 16, 7 p.m. 

Cornett A, Room 120, UVic. Speaker: Joel Ussery on '^Vegetation Man 

agement in Parks and Natural Areas." 

SUMMIT PARK ECOSYSTEM MAPPING MEETING - Sunday, 

January 19,1 p.m. Blanshard Community Centre. 

VICTORIA NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY BOTANY NIGHT — 

Tuesday, January 21, 7:30 p.m. Swan Lake Nature House. Featured 

speaker: David Fraser. 

CHRISTMAS HILL BROOM BASH — Sunday, January 26,1-3:30 

p.m. Meet at the Swan Lake Nature House parking lot. Bring gloves and 

sturdy footwear. Refreshments afterwards. 

GOMPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING — Monday, Febru 

ary 3,7:30 p.m. at Sharron Waite's, 935 Woodhall Drive, Victoria. 


Mill Farm on Salt Spring Island to 

by Briony Penn 

This article is reprinted from The 

Log, the Fall 1996 newsletter of 

Friends ofEcological Newsletter 

The largest remnant of old-growth 

Douglas-fir in the Gulf Islands will be 

protected, thanks to an $800,000 pur 

chase of the 65-hectare Mill Farm set 

tled on October 17. The Mill Farm was 

on a roller coaster all summer after 

being put up for sale for offers on $ 1.3 

million. 

The first offer (rumoured to be un 

der $900,000) by a logging consortium 

had some subject-to clauses which 

were never met, so the property went 

back on the market. During this time, 

the Salt Spring Island Conservancy 

raised over $100,000 for the purchase. 

The Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy 

teamed up with the Conservancy to put 

in an offer of $600,000 that involved a 

purchase and sell-back deal to some of 

the owners with the core old-growth 

area retained by the Crown. 

The owners rejected the deal — not 

enough money they said—and it went 

back on the market. A second offer was 

put on the property by, it was ru 

moured, another logging consortium. 

Meanwhile, the Capital Regional 

District entered the stage. Salt Spring 

Island has now joined the CRD parks 

function. This normally would require 

an island referendum and acceptance 

by all other CRD directors. The carrot 

was having half a million put into park 

acquisition on Salt Spring — and guess 

where $400,000 of the money went? 

Meanwhile, Salt Spring Island Con 

servancy raised close to $100,000 

more. (Peggy [Frank] and I contributed 

$200 from the Friends after selling watercolours 

made for the Douglas-fir 

placemat.) 

The successful bid was put together 

by the Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy, 

the CRD and the Conservancy, whose 

members says it is the first land-use 

w4win" ever for Salt Spring. 

The Mount Tuam/Mount Bruce pro 


tected area proposal that was put for 

ward by the Friends and featured in the 

last issue of The Log [and the July/ 

August issue of the Garry Oak Leaflei] 

is moving along briskly. I have 

joined ranks with a realtor and an 

economist to prepare a long term strat 

egy which focuses on the possibility 

of a protection of the fiill 7000-acre 

area through a variety oftools and man 

agement types. 

This is being done in conjunction 

with the Conserving with Covenants 

project that Bill Turner has been work 

ing tirelessly on. 

A variety of conservation strategies 

be preserved 

will be required to protect this area: 

1. Crown lands to be designated pro 

tected areas. 

2. Willing landowners to negotiate 

covenants for tax credits. 

3. Buffer-zone properties that come 

up for sale are bought through a rotat 

ing endowment fund, covenants are 

placed on the land, and the land is 

resold with cost recovery at no less than 

75 per cent. 

4. Forest reserves are placed are un 

der low intensity management to en 

courage landowners to undertake stew 

ardship responsibilities. 

Meeting for Summit Park mapping project 

by Katie Stewart 

As most GOMPS members know, 

Summit Park is one of the few areas in 

the city of Victoria which still is in its 

relatively natural state. 

Despite invasive non-native plants, 

it still has significant Garry oak mead 

ows. In July 1996, Friends of Summit 

Park (FoSP) met with City of Victoria 

parks staff to discuss how the park is 

managed. Joe Daly, Manager of Parks 

Design and Development, suggested to 

FoSP that they might like to undertake 

mapping the park. 

This will be useful to determine 

where particular native plant 

populations are. Parks staff can then 

adjust their mowing schedules to ac 

commodate the plants' different ripen 

ing times. 

Mr. Daly is particularly interested in 

knowing the locations of all the Garry 

oaks and to have some idea of how 

many young seedlings there are. 

Knowing the location and numbers of 

rare plants such as yellow montane vio 

let (viola praemorsa), will also help 

FoSP to keep a close eye on the plants' 

viability. 

Two other groups in Victoria have 

already undertaken similar projects: 

Friends of Beacon Hill Park and the 

Garry oak volunteers at Government 

House. 

FoSP has invited members from both 

groups to come to a meeting on Janu 

ary 19 to discuss and demonstrate their 

particular mapping projects. Joe Daly 

will also attend. 

FoSP members Karen Uldall-Ekman 

and Katie Stewart met recently with 

Dave Clark, a plant ecologist with the 

Ministry of Environment (MoE) habi 

tat inventory section, to discuss eco 

system mapping. MoE personnel did 

some preliminary soil and terrain stud 

ies in the oak woodlands/meadow area 

at Government House in the early 

1990s. 

Mr. Clark was able to hire a co-op 

student from UVic to do the vegeta 

tion mapping last summer. Unfortu 

nately, with provincial budget cuts, no 

more students can be hired for other 

mapping projects. 

Although the Summit Park mapping 

project will be undertaken by Friends 

of Summit Park, anyone is welcome to 

attend the meeting ifthey are interested 

in becoming involved. The meeting is 

scheduled for 1 p.m. at the new 

Blanshard Community Centre, Kings 

Road and Dowler Place.

EYA advisory board 


The West Coast Ecological Youth Al 

liance (WCEYA) has a new outreach 

coordinator, Angie Stevens. She came to 

the GOMPS December board meeting to 

invite GOMPS to become a member of 

an advisory board which the WCEYA is 

setting up. 

Although no director was able to at 

tend the initial meeting, we did receive 

the minutes of the meeting. We hope that 

a representative will be able to attend the 

next meeting on January 29. 

TWO VIEWS OF SUMMIT PARK: Before the big blizzard (above) and during 

the November broom bash (below). Friends of Summit Park member Dierdre 

Gotto piles broom during the first-ever community broom bash. 

Photos by Katie Stewart 

The objective of the advisory board 

will be to provide guidance to WCEYA 

for projects concerning preservation and 

salvaging when development occurs. 

The board will also liaise with commu 

nity groups and other parties involved 

with such projects. 

A second objective will be to become 

a clearinghouse for information regard 

ing developments. This will mean con 

tacting developers and contractors, city 

planners, municipal councils and Min 

istry of Highways (MoTH) staff. A list 

of suitable sites to replant the salvaged 

material will also be compiled. 

Among the people attending the ini 

tial advisory board meeting were two 

MoTH personnel: Catherine Abel, 

spokesperson for the Vancouver Island 

Highway Project and Al Planiden, from 

the ministry. Ms Abel mentioned two 

potential sites for plant rescues: the Millstream 

Connector and the Admirals/ 

McKenzie area. 

Upcoming activities on Mount Tolmie 

January 18 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Shrub and Tree Planting Bee #5 

January 19 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. Broom Bash #57 

January 25 

January 26 

February 2 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

1-3 p.m. 

Shrub and Tree Planting Bee #6 

Broom Bash #58 

Wildflower Walk #17 

To find planting or broom bashing activities in remote areas, volunteers 

may need to follow pink survey tape from Mayfair Drive parking areas; 

wildflower walks will depart from and return to the summit viewpoint. While 

shovels will only be usefiil for planting, sturdy footwear is a must for all activi 

ties, which will proceed rain or shine. For more information, contact Eric 

Redekop at 595-7270. 

Salvaging native plants can only pre 

serve a miniscule amount of plants, at 

best, compared to the vast quantities that 

are destroyed by development or the 

highway widening project. A formal 

salvaging program is definitely needed 

but how we approach development has 

to be rethought so that wholesale blast 

ing and bulldozing is no longer the norm. 

If you are interested in becoming in 

volved, or are aware of impending de 

velopments, please contact the WCEYA 

at 383-2062, fax 386-3449 or e-mail 

yyj00497@cyberstore.ca. 


Seedy Saturday 

The Fourth Annual Community Seed 

Barter and Show will be held on Satur 

day, February 15 at South Park School, 

508 Douglas Street (opposite Beacon 

Hill Park), from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

The theme of this year's event will 

be transforming schoolgrounds into 

landscapes for learning. 

A number of organizations will be 

represented: Evergreen Foundation, 

Lifecycles, Green Teacher, Provincial 

Capital Commission, the Victoria Hor 

ticultural Society, Naturescape and the 

Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. 

There will be displays from schools 

already involved with a gardening 

project. Attendees will be able to pur 

chase seeds and plants from the collec 

tions of local growers and nurseries and 

to barter or buy seeds at the commu 

nity seed exchange table. 

Admission is $3. For more informa 

tion contact Carolyn Herriot 592-4472. 

CRD Regional Growth 

Strategy's Public Advisory 

Committee formed 

The Capital Regional District has 

embarked on a four-year regional 

growth study (RGS). Under the provin 

cial Growth Strategies Act, enacted in 

1995, a framework was set up "for lo 

cal governments to carry out coordi 

nated planning and action at the re 

gional level."(CRD's November 1996 

Foundations for the Future bulletin.) 

The CRD invited applications from 

the public to sit on a 15-member pub 

lic advisory committee. 

The mandate for this committee will 

be to advise the CRD on the process 

for consultation with regional residents, 

communications and media relations, 

the formation and operation of commu 

nity discussion groups and to give in 

put and feedback on RGS documents. 

One member selected for the com 

mittee was GOMPS president Katie 

Stewart. She hopes to keep GOMPS 

members informed of opportunities for 

their input to the RGS via the Garry 

Oak Leaflet. 

PUBLIC RELATIONS 

ONGOING 

GOMPS DISPLAYS: 

Call Eric Redekop, 595-7270, to suggest locations. 

FUND-RAISING COMMITTEE 

As our main fund-raiser, GOMPS has for sale full colour posters of a Garry oak 

and a meadow of camas/buttercups under a bright spring sky. We also have 

wildflower placemats, wildflower posters and the Garry Oak Meadow Colloquium 

Proceedings for sale. Call Tom Gillespie at 361-1694. 

PRESERVATION/RESTORATION COMMITTEE 

SEED/SEEDLING EXCHANGE. Interested members contact Katie Stewart at 

386-4792. 

OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP (broom removal). Call Eric Redekop at 595- 

7270 for information. 

RESEARCH COMMITTEE 

PUBLIC CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE FUND GARRY OAK INVEN 

TORY PROJECT. Project coordinator is Paul Gareau, 592-9089. 

NEWSLETTER 

If you have any contributions — photos, art work, articles, letters of agreement or 

disagreement or anything else you'd like to contribute, contact Katie Stewart at 

386-4792 or mail to address below. 

GARRY OAK MEADOW PRESERVATION SOCIETY 

c/o A-954 QUEENS AVENUE, VICTORIA, B.C. V8T 1M6 

DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS 

OF THE SOCIETY 

President and Public Relations Chair Katie Stewart 386-4792 

Vice-President Pierre d'Estrube 477-2410 

Treasurer and Finance Chair Tom Gillespie 361-1694 

Secretary and Membership 

E-mail ua620@freenet.victoria.bc.ca 

Development Chair Sharron Waite 479-3380 

Director and Program Chair Paul Gareau 592-9089 

E-mail upgareau@islandnet.com 

Director Hal Gibbard 477-2986 

Director Janet Simpson 381-6657 

NAMF. 

ADDRESS 

MEMBERSHIPS AND DONATIONS 

MEMBERSHIP DUES: 

□ Individual $15 □ Family $20 

□ Youth and Associate $6 (no newsletter) 

□ Gift memberships, send receipt to: 

□ Donation 

Please send more information about: 

O Local sources for Garry oak meadow plants 

□ Garry Oak Inventory Project 

Q Operation Clean Sweep (broom removal) 

□ Growing, planting Gany oaks 

6 Garry Oak Leaflet

RRY OAK LEAFLET 

Newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society February I997, Vol. 1, Mo. 

Sooke Hills to 

After at least five years of many lo 

cal people lobbying for the protection 

of the Sooke Hills, the provincial gov 

ernment has listened. 

One person with a vision, Ray Zimmermann, 

initiated the effort by talk 

ing to community association meetings, 

public forums and the CRD Round Ta 

ble on the Environment. He also took 

many people on hikes in the off-catch 

ment areas of the Greater Victoria Wa 

ter District (GVWD) to inspire them to 

share his dream of a sea-to-sea 

greenbelt, from Saanich Inlet to Sooke 

be protected! 

Basin. The staff of the Victoria Branch 

of the Western Canada Wilderness 

Committee began to campaign and 

other community groups, including 

GOMPS, added their support. 

Capital Regional District Parks saw 

the value of protecting the land and did 

a comprehensive study. But the GVWD 

Board wasn't supportive and had back 

room discussions about trading or sell 

ing off the lands. Fortunately, David 

Perry, a lawyer commissioned by 

former Environment Minister Moe 

Sihota to look at the off-catchment 

lands of the GVWD among many other 

issues pertaining to the GVWD, rec 

ommended that the lands become a 

CRD Park. Finance Minister Andrew 

Petter accepted this recommendation 

and legislation will soon be drafted to 

transfer the land from the four core 

municaplities to the CRD. 

The dream doesn't stop there, how 

ever. More lands will have to be ac 

quired to finalize the sea-to-sea vision. 

Crown lands need to be designated as 

park; some private lands will have to 


Garry oaks will be retained as lot is 

developed 

rezoning which contains numerous 

Photo by Katie Stewart 

GOMPS directors receive many calls necessarily Garry oak) being cut down, 

SMALL OAK GROVE will be preserved when lot is developed. 

about property being developed which One such phone call concerned a large Garry oaks. GOMPS Director Sharron 

contain Garry oaks or about trees (not lot at 3500 Cedar Hill Road slated for 

Waite obtained the development plans, 

which we discussed at the last two 

board meetings. 

Presently there is one house on the 

property. The initial proposal was 

turned down by Saanich. The second 

proposal of four houses and a duplex 

will preserve the small grove of Garry 

oaks adjacent to the house in the pho 

tograph (left). 

Unfortunately there is a venerable 

oak behind the house on the right (much 

larger than the oaks in the grove) which 

will have to be removed to accommo 

date the driveway. The consulting 

arborist said the tree wasn't healthy and 

ifthe driveway were to be moved, blast 

ing would still kill it. 

Sharron has arranged for a site tour 

with the realtor, who also drew up the 

house plans, on February 15. 


I

William Head Institution propagating program 

By Katie Stewart 

During the Metchosin Day annual 

festival in late September 1996,1 no 

ticed two young people walk by with 

1-gallon containers of Garry oak seed 

lings. I left my place in the dinner line 

up and ran after them, curious as to 

where they had obtained the seedlings. 

They motioned to an area I hadn't 

visited. Tucked away was a table with 

numerous oak seedlings and several 

styrofoam packs of arbutus seedlings, 

free for the taking. I waited around to 

talk to the person in charge who turned 

out to be the program organizer for the 

prisoners at William Head Institution, 

a man named Bernie Dovell. 

I introduced myself and talked about 

GOMPS, which he had heard of. We 

exchanged phone numbers and several 

months later I phoned him. He set up a 

meeting for me in mid-December with 

Chris Trehearne, the horticulturalist at 

William Head Institution. 

Pre-clearance with prison officials 

was necessary before my arrival. Un 

fortunately, I had forgotten to ask if I 

could bring my camera and take some 

photos, so although I had my camera 

with me, I could not take it past the 

gate. 

For those of you not familiar with 

the location of the prison, it is south 

west of Victoria in Metchosin on a pe 

ninsula surrounded by the waters of 

Juan de Fuca Strait. The cove on the 

northeast side of the grounds is called 

Quarantine Cove, which reflects the 

history of the peninsula. From 1893- 

1957 a quarantine station with 42 build 

ings operated at the site. Sheep were 

introduced to the rocky knoll area. 

In 1927 at its peak, 1,068 ships were 

inspected. Over 1000 people could be 

detained on shore, if necessary, to con 

trol the spread of communicable dis 

eases. A year after its closure as a quar 

antine station, the institution reopened 

as a minimum security prison. 

William Head Institution has the 

nickname "Club Fed" because of its su 

perb location and beautiful landscape. 

Most of Metchosin is predominately 

salal-oregon grape native plant com 

munity and contains only a few pock 

ets of Garry oak-arbutus and arbutusgarry 

oak communities, according to 

the CRD Native Plant Communities 

map prepared for Environment Canad 

by the Forestry Service in 1976 by in 

terpreting air photos of areas larger 

than ±10 ha. (These mixed stands are 

designated by the predominant species 

in the stands.) 

The institution falls within the band 

of coast line and eastern half of the 

Saanich Peninsula which receives an 

average annual precipitation of 690 

mm. 

Vegetative management plan 

Chris Trehearne has drawn up a veg 

etative management plan for the prison 

grounds. Over half of the area has been 

designated natural reserves. Mr. 

Trehearne said he utilitized some in 

formation contained in our GOMPS 

brochure regarding the importance of 

preserving Garry oak habitat when he 

approached the warden for support for 

his management plan. 

According to the plan, the natural 

areas will contain native plants only 

and "all maintenance practices would 

be focused on maintaining or increas 

ing the diversity of natives established 

on the peninsula. 

This would include broom, gorse and 

blackberry removal. Pruning only of 

dangerous branches; annual grass cut 

ting to minimize fire hazard. These ar 

eas would serves as visual boundaries 

as well as seed banks for propagation 

for [the] CRD program." 

After I arrived at the prison and 

signed in, Mr. Trehearne walked me 

around the prison grounds. We passed 

the residential area and I noticed a large 

tipi close to the water. First Nations 

prisoners have an area set aside for 

Hatched areas are natural reserves. 

Map was prepared by Chris Trehearne

their religious and cultural use. Mr. 

Trehearne pointed out a pond in the 

making which will be encircled by na 

tive plants traditionally used by First 

Nations people, such as skunk cabbage. 

Approximately a third of the prison 

grounds is a hilly area of Garry oaks, 

which is off-limits to the prisoners' 

Some broom removal has been under 

taken there by prisoners. 

Mr. Trehearne said former loggers 

were very interested in working out 

side, doing this kind of work. (Beraie 

Dovell said he tried to interest the CRD 

in utilizing prisoners who were nearing 

their time to leave prison to do 

broom removal in parks and other CRD 

areas for a nominal amount of money. 

Unfortunately, according to Mr. 

Dovell, union jurisdictional problems 

so far have prevented that from hap 

pening.) 

Mr. Trehearne has tried to fence off 

particular plant populations such as 

satin-flowers and fawn lilies. In the 

past, some of the natural areas have 

been treated as dump sites, so some 

degradation of flowering native plant 

species has occurred because of igno 

rance. 

Deer and racoons are a problem, he 

said. 

Mr. Trehearne teaches several 

Camosun accredited courses, such as 

botany, arborculture (basic pinning) 

and soil management. If at least four 

prisoners are interested, he'll set up a 

course, such as cloning propagation 

techniques. 

The prison has a garden area and sev 

eral greenhouses. Quite a few "house 

plants" are grown there for the resi 

dences, as well as the starter plants for 

the planter boxes. This keeps costs 

down as well as providing a learning 

experience for interested prisoners. 

Mr. Trehearne mentioned that pris 

oners involved in greenhouse growing 

learn to be patient. He said many of 

them are not used to waiting for what 

they want, but are used to taking what 

they want, when they want it, which is 

often what got them into trouble. 

Growing Garry oaks 

When Mr. Trehearne decided to start 

growing oaks, he initially tried tried 

three approaches: planting acorns out 

side in pots, covering the acorns with 

leaves over winter; stratifying the 

acorns before planting, and planting the 

acorns indoors where the seedlings 

were pampered. He said the growth 

rates were the same so he now just 

plants the acorns outdoors in pots and 

doesn't fertilize them. 

Some Garry oaks have been planted 

in degraded areas at the prison. 

Mr. Trehearne visited the Pacific 

Forestry Centre (PFC) to see their op 

eration. He said he was surprised at the 

size of the centre's two-year-old seed 

ling compared to those at William Head 

Institution. 

The PFC seedlings were approxi 

mately four times as high. Mr. 

Trehearne assumed they were ferti- 

Correction 

Calendar 

In the December 1996 article titled 

Government House Garry oak habitat, 

the third last paragraph indicated that 

negotiations were underway for a con 

servation covenant, but in fact, the poslized. 

Mr. Trehearne wondered about 

their viability when transplanted. I told 

him we hadn't kept any records but 

were trying to get a study going for 

those we had distributed for planting. 

Besides Garry oak and arbutus, Mr. 

Trehearne grows alder and some na 

tive shrubs. He is particularly inter 

ested in growing manzanita, which is 

reputedly very difficult to propagate. 

Apparently some manzanita is being 

grown at PFC, however, he said. 

Plants and seedlings aren't grown to 

be sold commercially. Mr. Trehearne 

doesn't want commitments that might 

possibly not be honoured, for example, 

in the event of a prison shut-down by 

rioting prisoners. (This hasn't hap 

pened, but the possibility always ex 

ists.) 

sibility of a conservation covenant is 

being explored and it hoped that nego 

tiations can begin in the near future. 

Thanks to Friends of Government 

House and GOMPS member Fran 

Spencer for the clarification. 

SEEDY SATURDAY - February 15,10 a.m.-5 P.m., South Park School 

Purchase seeds and plants from local growers and nurseries. Barter or buv 

seeds at the Community Seed Exchange Table. 

NATIVE PLANT STUDY GROUP - Thursday, February 207pm 

CornettA Room 120, UVIC. Speaker: Wayne Erickson on SasslanZf 

Southern British Columbia. 

WILDFLOWERWALK-Sunday,February 23,1-3 P.m. Depart from 

summit viewpoint. For more information contact Eric Redekop 595-7270. 

GOMPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING - Thursday, March 

6, 7:30 p.m. at Katie Stewart's, 1252 Montrose Ave., Victoria. 

u^vl^J8^?^1^ Sat-day>March8, 9a.n,-4:30 

p.m Elliott Lecture Wing, UVIC. Tickets available at The Field Naturalist 

and Swan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary Nature House. 

VHNS MUSICAL HATS - Saturday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. Prospect 

Lake Community Hall. Tickets available at The Field Naturalist. 

NPSBCNATIVEPLANTSOCIETYOFBRITISHCOLUMBUAGM 

^SSSS *' UVIC- F°r m°re information

BiblioFile 

Classification and Interpretation of 

Garry oak Quercus garryana Plant 

Communities and Ecosystems in 

Southwestern British Columbia by 

Wayne R. Erickson, 1996 

This comprehensive volume is Mr. 

Erickson's Master of Science thesis for 

the Department of Geography at the 

University of Victoria. 

Mr. Erickson did three years' of field 

work in over 300 plots. He sampled 

plant communities to "develop a clas 

sification for use in resource manage 

ment." He identified and described 43 

plant communities. Twenty-seven of 

these are in the native plant category 

and the remaining 17 are introduced 

plant communities. 

Mr. Erickson writes that originally 

the Saanich Peninsula had over 3,000 

ha of Garry oak habitat and the origi 

nal overall range was probably less 

than 10,000 ha. Not much is protected; 

the largest areas are Mt. Maxwell at 

64.8 ha and Mt. Tzouhalem at 18 ha. 

He also describes the number of rare 

plant species in the ecosystem. 

Whereas the provincial mean is 40 in 

the forest districts, the Duncan Forest 

District lists "132 rare plant taxa." Over 

half of these are on the Conservation 

Data Centre's Red (endangered and 

threatened) and Blue (watch) Lists. 

Mr. Erickson writes, "Underlying the 

thesis work was the urgency for action 

on the Garry oak ecosystem. Their en 

dangered status sharpened the need for 

a classification as a base step in better 

understanding these ecosystems. Man 

agement strategies and interpretations 

are also developed in this thesis to help 

in efforts to maintain the ecological 

integrity of the Garry oak communi 

ties." 

Wayne Erickson's thesis can be read 

at the main branch of the Victoria Pub 

lic Library and at the University of 

Victoria Library. He also distributed 

copies to several government ministries 

and to local municipalities, hoping that 

the information therein will help in 

management plans. 


Miracle Under the Oaks: The Revival 

of Nature in America by William K. 

Stevens, Pocket Books, 1995. 

Review by Katie Stewart 

At the broom workshop on Galiano 

Island in October, 1996 the Galiano 

Conservancy Association had a large 

table set up with posters and books 

from their extensive library. 

Among the many books displayed, 

one caught my eye: Miracle Under The 

Oaks, with its wonderful background 

cover photo of frosted oak, fern and fir 

leaves. I wrote the name down in my 

notebook and forgot about it. About six 

weeks later I spotted the book in 

Munro's Books and bought it, and 

much later discovered the forgotten 

reference in my notebook. 

Miracle Under the Oaks was inspired 

by a conversation the author had in late 

1990 with the director of the Missouri 

Botanical Garden who mentioned the 

burgeoning ecological restoration 

movement, which resulted in an arti 

cle by Mr. Stevens in the New York 

Times and an inquiry about the possi 

bility of a book from the Pocket Books, 

a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. 

Miracle Under The Oaks is great and 

exciting reading. Once I began read 

ing the book, it was my bed-time read 

ing until I finished it. 

The book is divided into three parts. 

The first and third parts chronicle the 

restoration of Vestal Grove, an oak sa 

vanna, and 10 other tallgrass prairie 

remnants around the north branch of 

Chicago River. 

Agriculture and settlement have al 

most eliminated the original bur-oak 

savannas and tallgrass prairies of the 

American Midwest; in Chicago, the 

small remnants remaining were greatly 

diminished by human activity. 

"When Steve Packard first saw Ves 

tal Grove [a forest district preserve, in 

1977] and its adjacent open savannas 

and prairies... it was a dead ecosystem 

except for the dominant oaks and their 

attendant hickories; and not just dead, 

but lost to human ken. The classic 

tallgrass savannas had disappeared so 

quickly, before scientists could study 

them, that their ecological characteris 

tics were almost unknown. Packard 

found the site strewn with mattresses, 

car seats, and milk crates that teenag 

ers used as 

seats 

for 

outdoor 

parties. Bottles 

cans 

and 

were 

everywhere 

.... More se 

rious 

an 

from 

ecologi 

cal point of 

view, 

site 

choked 

the 

was 

by 

Miracli; 

unofr 

HE OAxS 

20-foot-high thickets of European 

buckthorn, an invader from abroad 

whose dense growth obliterated the 

original grasses and flowers, destroy 

ing not only the savanna ecosystem, but 

also any possibility of knowing what 

it had been like." (pages 18-19) 

The book describes Mr. Packard's 

background and what influenced him 

to begin the North Branch Prairie 

Project. With a few minute slide pres 

entation at a Sierra Club meeting he 

solicited 12 volunteers who collected 

and planted 2000 prairie phlox seeds 

in other degraded prairielands and re 

moved invasive brush. 

From this humble beginning, hun 

dreds of people eventually became in 

volved in the ongoing restoration ef 

forts in the forest district preserves, 

including growing the plants needed 

for the restoration work. 

Also described in these sections of 

the book were the discovery of a lost 

ecosystem which pitted Mr. Packard's 

botanical sleuthing against the 

skepticism of local scientists; the reintroduction 

of many of its plants spe 

cies into the oak savanna; prescribed 

burning in an urban setting, necessary 

to bring back plant species; the inevi 

table personality and environmental

group conflicts; the failures and suc 

cesses and what has been learned in the 

process of doing the restoration work 

along the river; and the ongoing scien 

tific debate about restoration and tam 

pering with natural processes. 

Part two of Miracle Under The Oaks 

details various ecological restoration 

projects ongoing in the U.S. and Costa 

Rica, some involving the Nature Con 

servancy. 

These include restoring riparian for 

ests along the Sacramento River in 

California; sandplain habitat in 

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts 

with prescribed burns; longleaf-pine/ 

wiregrass habitat along the 

Apalachicola River in Florida and 

wetlands along the Atlantic coast. 

Appendices list volunteer contact 

organizations in the U.S. and the na 

tive plants growing in Vestal Grove in 

1993. 

There is a paragraph (pages 154-155) 

which those of us involved in restora 

tion work need to consider as we go 

about removing invasive plants and reintroducing 

native species in areas 

where they once grew. 

"Restoration projects typically face 

formidable investigational, conceptual, 

and political obstacles that can make 

or break the venture even before the 

field-workers get their hands dirty and 

their brows sweaty. Figuring out what 

the predisturbance ecosystem was like, 

as Packard found, can be a knotty chal 

lenge; yet this kind of investigative 

ecology may be essential to many 

projects. Deciding on a specific objec 

tive is critical. Getting the science right 

can be intimidating. Securing commu 

nity approval and support, given tradi 

tional attitudes about nature and con 

servation, can be ticklish. 

Dealing with politicians, bureaucra 

cies and entrenched interests tests both 

patience and political skill. Failure is 

always a possibility. Sometimes fail 

ure is abject, especially when restora 

tions have not done their homework or 

adopted the right goals or are not suf 

ficiently committed or just do not know 

what they are doing." _ - 

Oaks of California by Bruce M. POvlik, 

Pamela C. Muick, Sharon G. Johnson 

and Marjorie Popper, published by 

Cachuma Press and the California 

Oak Foundation, 1991. 

Review by Katie Stewart 

For Christmas I received a copy of 

this book, now in its third reprinting. 

Full of spectacular photos, detailed 

drawings and range maps, it gives a 

description of each of California's 19 

species of oak (growth form, leaves, 

acorns, bark and wood), their habitat 

and geographical distribution. 

Oaks 

OF CALIFORNIA 

Quercus 

garryana is, 

of course, of 

prime interest 

to me. 

Called 

Or 

egon oak in 

this 

its 

ated 

book, 

associ 

plant 

communi 

ties are dif 

ferent 

than 

those of the Garry oak in British Co 

lumbia. Two other varieties of Garry 

oak exist, both shrub oaks: Brewer oak 

(Q. garryana van breweri), which is 

mostly widely distributed between 

2,000 and 6,000 feet in the Klamath 

and southern Cascade ranges, and shin 

oak (Q. garryana var. semota), which 

is located in die Transverse Ranges and 

southern Sierra. 

Several oak species are endangered 

and the book highlights conservation 

efforts, such as The Nature Conserv 

ancy buying large chunks of the Santa 

Garry oak seedlings 

Rosa plateau — destined for develop 

ment — to protect the Englemann oak 

with the result that over 6900 acres are 

protected as an ecological reserve. 

Oak history and use, wildlife and 

oaks, conservation, preservation, habi 

tat restoration and management are all 

covered in the book. One chapter is on 

exploring California's oak landscapes 

by area. For example, in the section on 

the Northern California Coast, specific 

directions on given to Schoolhouse 

Peak, in the southern part of Redwood 

National Park, which preserves "out 

standing examples of Oregon oak 

woodland." (page 139) 

Appendices include maps of Califor 

nia's topography and native tribes, in 

dex to common and scientific plant 

names, insects and vertebrate species 

associated with California oaks and 

endangered species associated with 

California oaks. 

Ed note: The California Oak Foun 

dation and the International Oak So 

ciety are co-sponsoring the Second In 

ternational Oak Conference in San 

Marino, California from October 21- 

23,1997. 

Organizers hope presenters will talk 

on oak use, ecology, conservation, tax 

onomy and propagation. Field trips 

will be arranged to such places as the 

Santa Rosa Plateau and Kern River 

Oak Restoration. 

□ 

The Garry Oak Leaflet will try to 

include book reviews from time to 

time. We welcome material from 

GOMPS members. Anyone so inspired 

can contact Katie Stewart at 386-4792. 

disappear 

At the February GOMPS board to plant the oaks before Christmas and 

meeting, directors very disappointed to 

hear that a vandal(s) uprooted between 

50-100 Garry oak seedlings from 

Mount Tolmie where they had been re 

cently planted. 

Eric Redekop, who is coordinating 

both broom removal and planting na 

tive shrubs and oaks on site, had en 

listed the help of classes from Campus 

View and Uplands Elementary Schools 

in January. 

On one of his regular visits there at 

the end of January, he discovered the 

oaks missing, not uprooted and tossed 

aside. He speculated that they might 

have been stolen, though it seemed un 

likely. 

Such destruction is unfathomable; 

we hope that Eric keeps his spirits up 

and doesn't become disheartened. 



be purchased, if owners are willing and 

money can be found. The Society for 

the Protection of Ayum Creek is fundraising 

to purchase and restore the delta 

area of the salmon-bearing creek, 

which flows from the Sooke Hills. The 

property is currently for sale. 

Charters River, originating in the 

Sooke Hills, also requires protection. 

The final objective? Sooke Basin and 

Saanich Inlet as marine parks. 

Add to this the proposed Mount 

Tuam/Mount Bruce protected area on 

Saltspring Island (July/Augut 1996 

Garry Oak Leaflet) and there could ul 

timately be a magridficent oasis in this 

part of the Georgia Basin. 

GOMPS AGM 

The annual general meeting has been 

set for March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the 

Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary Nature 

House. Five directors' terms will be 

finished at that time: those of Pierre 

d'Estrube, Hal Gibbard, Paul Gareau, 

Tom Gillepsie and Sharron Waite. 

Most directors have indicated that they 

will stand for re-election. 

However, any GOMPS members in 

good standing who wish to stand for 

election may do so. If anyone is inter 

ested, please let Tom Gillespie know 

at 361-1694 or at the AGM. 

The agenda will include a discussion 

of GOMPS being a possible umbrella 

organization for the numerous small 

groups around which are engaged in 

restoration or land use issues. We have 

been approached several times over the 

last two years regarding setting up an 

informal network. 


GOMPS DISPLAYS: 

Ongoing 









386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 






Directors and Officers 

of the Society 

President and Public Relations Chair Katie Stewart 3 86-4792 




E-mail ua620@jBreenet.victoria.bc.ca 






Memberships and 

Donations 

Garry oak volunteers from Friends 

of Government House will set up a dis 

play of their ecosystem mapping of the 

natural area below Government House 

and show slides of their restoration 

work following the formal part of the 

meeting. 

Welcome new members 

Alison Gareau, Stephen Ruttan, 

Catherine Fryer, Karen Uldall- 

Ekmann, D.E. McNally, and Ron and 

Sylvia Samborski, all of Victoria. 


NAMF 

ADDRESS 



□ Youth and Associate $6 (no newsletter) 

Q Gift memberships, send receipt to: 

□ Donation 


□ Local sources for Garry oak meadow plants 

Q Garry Oak Inventory Project 

□ Operation Clean Sweep (broom removal) 

□ Growing, planting Garry oaks

Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group 

4th ANNUAL NATIVE 

PLANT SYMPOSUM 

March 8, 1997 - 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 

Elliott 

Lecture Wing, UVic 

* Tickets: $15 at the door, $12 advance, $8 students/unwaged 

•To increase public awareness about native plant gardening and other native vegetation 

issues; to raise concern for the status of native vegetation on campus 

and in the community; to raise funds for the upkeep of the 

Confirmed Presentations 

UVic Native Plant Garden. 

"Propagation of Native Plants" by Brenda Costanzo 

"Find Where You Are: Geographic Positioning Based on Native Plant 

Distributions" by Adolf Ceska 

"Flora of the Saanich Peninsula" by Hans Roemer 

"Using Native Plants in Landscapes" by Judith Reeve 

"Restoring Landscapes with Native Plants" by Kathy Dunster 

"From Harmless to Hazardous: Exploring Chemical Diversity 

in Native Plants" by Kelly Banister 

"Preserving Garry oak ecosystems: conservation in the community" 

by Sharron Waite 

... and more 

Other events 

Walking tours of Mystic Vale and the UVic Native Plant Garden 

Native Plants for sale from Thimble Farms on Saltspring Island 

Lone Pine Publishing Field Guides for sale 

Moss Biology and Identification Workshop 

Cattail Basketry Workshop 

Broom Ecology and Biocontrol Workshop 

Bake sale and raffles prizes 

Displays 

Canadian Wildflower Society 

Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society/Friends of Summit Park 

Conservation Data Centre 

Friends of Ecological Reserve 

Tannis Walburton - Wildflower Artist 

Woodland Farms 

and more.... 

Tickets available at The Field Naturalist and Swan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary


newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadouu Preservation Society March 1997. Vol. 1, Mo. 3 

Conservancy Hornby Island's injunction 

On January 17, the subdivision pro 

posal for the "Thousand Oaks Grove" 

on Hornby Island was approved. Con 

servancy Hornby Island was not noti 

fied and only found out about the ap 

proval 10 days later, hours before the 

deadline for any appeal. 

For newer GOMPS members not fa 

miliar with the issue, the approx. 5 ha 

area of Garry oak-brome community 

will be the fifth stage of development 

for High Salal ranch, a development 

owned by Keith Sorensen. 

The enchanting grove, which has no 

Scotch broom or other major invasive 

shrubs, overlooks the ocean. Although 

it is on private land, a path connects 

the grove to HeUiwell Park, not far from 

the edge of the high cliffs above the 

ocean. 

In an article by Stephen Hume, pub 

lished in the Vancouver Sun in June 

1996, he wrote: "Retired international 

ecological scholar and author [Dr.] C.E. 

Pilou rates the Hornby grove as world 

class in importance. 

" 'Every place in earth has a contri 

bution to make. In the case of Hornby 

Island, the conservation of its Garry 

oaks is a national and international re 

sponsibility.' 

"She believes the Hornby oaks have 

evolved a unique set of genes that per 

mits them to survive in such a marginal 

habitat. This makes them all the more 

important as a biological asset in a 

world of shrinking diversity." 

Mr. Hume also quotes Dr. Richard 

Hebda about the grove. " 'I think it is 

highly significant. It is the only one of 

its kind in B.C., which means in 

Canada. From an ecological point of 

view, it's pretty much one of a kind. 

The bottom line is that is is unique in 

Canada.' " 

Conservancy Hornby Island has been 

trying to have the grove preserved for 

10 years. Spokesperson John Edward 

said the Conservancy has taken out an 

injunction to have the approving offic 

er's decision set aside because the sub 

division is not adhering to the prelimi 

nary layout approval and the public in 

terest is not being served. 

The Conservancy also objects to the 

Ministries of Highways and Transpor 

tation and Environment being cocovantees 

for the grove. The Trust Fund 

Board was originally supposed to hold 

the covenants. 

The injunction is supposed to be 

heard on March 24th. 

The Conservancy contacted GOMPS 

for another letter of support for their 

court appearance, which has been sent. 

Other local supporters have also sent 

letters. 

A VIEW OF HORNBY ISLAND'S "THOUSAND OAKS GROVE". Island Trustee 

Tony Law and developer Keith Sorensen are shown walking through the lots in 

1995. 

Photo by Katie Stewart. 

The grove is so far still intact and as 

John Edward says, "We want to keep it 

that way." 


BCLand Trust Alliance formed 


Governments can only protect so 

much land, given economic and politi 

cal restraints. Capital Regional District 

Parks has certainly recognized this with 

their Green/Blue Spaces Strategy; their 

staff have looked at other mechanisms 

for identifying and protecting green 

space besides outright purchase. Some 

of these measures include stewardship, 

conservation covenants and land trusts. 

What is a land trust? 

According to Turtle Island Earth 

Steward's brochure, Guide to Forming 

Community Land Trusts, "Community 

land trusts [CLTs] are non-profit chari 

table organizations created to hold and 

protect ecologically significant private 

lands in perpetuity. CLTS are an effec 

tive tool for people who want to inte 

grate environmental and development 

issues in local land use planning and 

ongoing monitoring programs at the 

community watershed or bioregional 

levels. 

"Lands to be placed in trust are ob 

tained by outright purchase, gift or be 

quest. CLTs hold lands in trust by out 

right ownership or by conservation 

covenants which are entered into agree 

ments with land owners. CLTS can also 

enter into management agreements 

with land owners to ensure ecologically 

appropriate farming or forestry prac 

tices that continue from owner to 

owner and from one generation to the 

next. 

"Why form a community land 

trust? 

"In the area of community building, 

CLTs can assist citizens, municipali 

ties, regional districts, watershed alli 

ances or bioregional groups to: 

"Increase awareness of an essential 

natural resource—such as agricultural 

and/or forested private lands; 

"Remove the ecological aspects of 

land from the speculative real estate 

market, so it ceases to be a commodity 

to be bought and sold for private gain 

and provides for ecologically sensitive 

development; 

e Garry Oak Leaflet 

"Proyide land as a community re 

source to be stewarded in an ecologi 

cally appropriate manner; 

"Strengthen environmental landplanning 

objectives in parks and rec 

reation, resource protection and resto 

ration, i.e. greenways." 

Formation of the B.C. Land 

Trust Alliance 

Last fall, the Cowichan Community 

Land Trust Society sponsored Steward 

ship Workshop: Tools for Land Con 

servation in Duncan, which GOMPS 

director Pierre d'Estrube attended. The 

Cowichan group, along with the 

Nanaimo Land Trust, organized a 

meeting in Nanaimo on February 7 and 

8 for local conservancy and land trust 

organizations to discuss the formation 

of the Land Trust Alliance of B.C. 

Saltspring, Savary, Denman, 

Galiano, Quadra, Cortes and Gabriola 

Island land trusts and conservancies 

were represented as well as Islands 

Trust, the Similkameen, Nanaimo, 

Cowichan, Campbell River and Comox 

Valley land trusts and the recently 

formed CRD group, Habitat Acquisi 

tion Trust Other groups represented 

included GOMPS, Wildbird Trust, 

Turtle Island Earth Stewardship and the 

Nature Conservancy. 

Guest speakers included Calvin 

Sandborn, author of Green Spaces and 

Growth: Conserving Natural Areas in 

British Columbia Communities; Chris 

Herrman, Land Trust Alliance of the 

Northwest (Redmond, Washington); 

Bill Turner, Land Conservancy ofB.C. 

and Tim Pringle, Real Estate Founda 

tion of B.C. 

Chris Hernnan gave quite a bit of 

practical information. He said there are 

over 1200 land trusts in the United 

States, and thought there ought to be 

about 600. Over half of the trusts are 

small and volunteer run. In some areas 

there are too many, which may be a 

question that the British Columbian 

groups may have to ask themselves 

over time. Over 2 million acres of land 

including farms, wetlands, wildlife 

habitat, urban gardens and parks, for 

ests, ranches, watersheds, coastlines, 

river corridors and trails have been pro 

tected by these land trusts in the United 

States. 

The U.S. Land Trust Alliance 

formed in 1982. Some of the larger land 

trusts which have been in existence for 

almost 100 years decided to form the 

organization in response to the constant 

requests for assistance from lands trusts 

just starting out. 

The alliance "provides specialized 

services, publications, information, and 

training for land trusts and other land 

conservation organizations, and works 

for public policies that advance land 

conservation," according to their bro 

chure. 

The BC Land Trust Alliance would 

like to fulfill a similar function, albeit 

scaled down. By the conclusion of the 

Saturday session, a mission statement 

was formed: 

BCLTA is a provincial communica 

tions, service and leadership organiza 

tion that helps member land trusts and 

conservation groups to protect, stew 

ard and/or rehabilitate natural, settle 

ment and heritage assets in British 

Columbia and nearby waters. 

Some possible activities: facilitating 

the development of a land trust move 

ment in B.C., providing educational 

materials, activities and workshops; 

serving as a central clearing house and 

library for information, group insur 

ance, providing start-up assistance to 

new groups, establishing voluntary 

standards and lobbying for legislation. 

Two workshops, one on board devel 

opment and the other on fund-raising, 

were held on Saturday afternoon. 

Tim Pringle gave some background 

on what the Real Estate Foundation 

requires from groups looking for fund 

ing as well as names of other potential 

sources such as other foundations and 

corporations. His foundation partially 

funded the Cowichan Community 

Land Trust's Stewardship Project (ap- 

Continued on page 3

New development at Royal Oak 


Directly across from the Royal Oak 

Shopping are five lots encompassing 

5.7 acres, owned by Saanich. The most 

northerly lot has a heritage building 

(housing most recently the Chantecler 

Restaurant) surrounded by trees, 

mainly Garry oaks and a large lawn. 

The other lots do not contain Garry 

oaks. 

GOMPS was contacted on February 

19 by a young woman named Michelle 

of the Ecological Youth Alliance, con 

cerned that a large Garry oak meadow 

was going to be developed on the site. 

The following day I attended an open 

house put on by the developer, with 

architectural drawings on display and 

the architect's and developer's staffs on 

hand. 

According to the package of written 

material, approximately 44 per cent or 

2.5 acres is "subject to restricted use 

due to the existence of the heritage 

building and a number of Garry oaks 

and arbutus." 

The new buildings are designed to 

fit in with the natural topography ofthe 

site, which slopes up from die south 

erly end 40 feet over the length of the 

property. They will be a combination 

of retail and office, with a separate 

building housing McDonald's, its 10th 

location in the Capital Region. 

The heritage building was originally 

constructed in 1939 for John and 

Katherine Maltwood as both a restau 

rant and their residence. They be 

queathed the building and its antiques 

and^morks o Universityy 

of Vic 

toria for a museum but the building was 

not suitable for that purpose. The uni 

versity ultimately sold it to Saanich in 

1979. The municipality rezoned the 

lands south of the house to commer 

cial the following year with the inten 

tion of selling the land to finance the 

purchase. 

Since it is a heritage building, its 

preservation and restoration is a pre 

requisite to the development of the 

property. The stated use will be a pub/ 

restaurant. 

Preservation of most of the Garry 

oaks and arbutus is another prerequi 

site. An initial tree survey was done 

by a civil engineering company to lo 

cate the trees' drip lines. Also, local 

arborist Don Bottrell was hired to sur 

vey all the trees to determine their 

health. The result is that of the exist 

ing 73 Garry oaks, two will be removed 

and of the nine arbutus, two also will 

be removed According to the handout, 

44where parking areas come close to the 

base of certain trees, grass grid pavers 

are to be employed instead of asphalt 

for the parking surface." 

I heard some concern from other visi 

tors to the open house regarding the 

loss of green space to the approach to 

Victoria (also occurring with the de 

velopment near Chatterton Way). As I 

am not a resident ofthe Royal Oak area, 

I did not comment on the questionnaire 

regarding such matters as "do you feel 

people in the neighbourhood need the 

convenience of additional commercial 

facilities that the development will of 

fer?" 

I did comment favorably, however, 

on the efforts to save as many trees as 

possible. I think Saanich's staff are try 

ing save as many oaks as they can when 

development occurs, judging by this 

development, the small one at 3500 

Cedar Hill Rd and Oakwinds. 

I also suggested using Garry oaks for 

some of the new plantings and using 

native flora associated with Garry oaks 

such as fawn and chocolate lilies, 

camas, shooting stars and satin-flow 

ers under the oaks, as well as retaining 

the existing tall Oregon grape. I talked 

with Tim Ankeman, the architect, 

about this as well and he seemed en 

thusiastic. I followed up our conversa 

tion by sending Him a list ofwhere such 

plant material can be bought 

By the time I talked to him, about 

3:00 p.m., he had a small list of sug 

gestions given to him by the viewing 

public ofwho to contact and a sugges 

tion of doing an ecological study. 

GOMPS was on the list as well as Joel 

Ussery of CRD Parks. I mentioned to 

Mr. Ankeman that I had walked over 

the grassy areas, including the area 

Michelle had been concerned about. I 

couldn't see any new growth of the 

above species, although I didn't walk 

over the whole site thoroughly. It may 

have been a Garry oak meadow in the 

past but I don't know vdiat the land has 

been used for more recently. The ex 

tensive lawn surrounding the house had 

several massive drifts of snowdrops, 

but I didn't see any signs of the small 

native spring flora. 

GOMPS director Sharron Waite will 

attend the Saanich Municipal Council 

meeting on March lO.The Chantecler 

property is on the agenda for a possi 

ble Environmental and Social Review. 


proaching landowners regarding stew 

ardship and/or conservation covenants) 

and partially funded the District of 

Saanich's inventory of environmental 

significant areas, for example. 

An interim board was elected at the 

meeting and most directors attended 

the board development workshop.They 

will proceed with forming a society. 

What role could GOMPS 

play? 

It is unlikely that GOMPS would 

ever actually own land, in my opinion. 

Our society could conceivably hold 

conservation covenants, as we are in a 

position to do so. 

More likely is a supportive role to 

perhaps the local Habitat Acquisition 

Trust Foundation, which is set up to 

own land and hold conservation cov 

enants. 

When stewardship programs are in 

place, we could approach landowners 

regarding becoming stewards and/or 

informing them about conservation 

covenants. We could also identify land 

that should be protected. One of our 

directors (or members) could sit on the 

HAT Board for further involvement 

and input. 

■Garry Oak Leaflet 5

CPAWS Park Stewardship Program 


In the November/December 1996 is 

sue of the BC Naturalist, publication 

of the Federation of British Columbia 

Naturalists, the B.C. chapter of the 

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Soci 

ety announced the beginning of the 

B.C. Grassroots Park Stewardship Pro 

gram. 

"The overall goal of the program is 

to ensure the ecological integrity ofthe 

national and provincial park system in 

B.C. The program focuses on the park 

stewardship activities performed by 

grassroots (volunteer) groups. Exam 

ples of park stewardship include: in 

volvement in park planning and man 

agement processes, interpretation and 

education, monitoring, research, 

watchdog duties on advocacy, trailing 

building and facilities maintenance. 

"Short-term objectives of the pro 

gram are: 

"1. The creation of a Park Steward 

ship Network connecting the grassroots 

groups and individuals involved in park 

issues in the province; and 

"2. the organization of a Park Stew 

ardship Workshop, to address the is 

sues raised by the groups and to de 

cide future course of actions. A longerterm 

objective is the creation of 

'Friends of the Park' groups where 

none currently exist. 

"What are other groups doing out 

there? What types of stewardship are 

they involved in? How did they tackle 

certain problems? What have they 

learned? What was successful? What 

mistakes have they made? 

Only by sharing our experiences can 

we learn from each other, avoid repeat 

ing the same mistakes, capitalizing on 

each other's achievements, and become 

more effective in protecting our parks. 

This is the rationale for creating a Park 

Stewarship Network." 

After reading this article, I immedi 

ately wrote and e-mailed a response to 

the Serena Arduino, the author. 

In my letter I wrote: 


"I was interested to read the article 

in the November 1995 issue of B.C. 

Naturalist advocating the formation of 

a B.C. Grassroots Park Stewardship 

Program. 

Unfortunately, your mandate is only 

provincial and federal parks. Within the 

Capital Regional District, there are a 

number of "Friends of groups who 

fulfill some of the suggested roles in 

the article, particularly ensuring the 

ecological integrity of our local natu 

ral parks. 

The local ecosystem on southern 

Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands 

is the Coastal Douglas-fir and within 

in an even smaller ecosystem — the 

Garry oak ecosystem. It is classified as 

an ecosystem at risk by the Ministry of 

Environment and it is, I believe, one 

of the four most endangered ecosys 

tems in Canada. 

Our organization has several roles: 

political lobbying, public education 

and habitat restoration. We publish a 

generally monthly newsletter on Garry 

oak/regional growth/native plant is 

sues. We have an ongoing program of 

collecting acorns, planting them at the 

Pacific Forestry Centre here in Victo 

ria, where they are raised for one or 

two years, then planted by community 

groups. The MoTH has used these oaks 

and more recently the City of Victoria 

will this month be planting 200 oaks 

in two parks. 

We organize a "City-wide Broom 

Bash" in the fall, an ongoing effort to 

get rid ofbroom and other exotic inva 

sive plants area parks. This year there 

were 21 broom bashes in 13 locations. 

Most of these events were coordinated 

by various "Friends of groups which 

have been actively doing restoration 

works in various parks. 

On southern Vancouver Island, the 

Garry oak ecosystem is not, so far, pro 

tected in any provincial or national 

parks that I'm aware of. We have cer 

tainly lobbied for such a park. There 

fore, the only protection this ecosys 

tem has is in local parks. It is only be 

cause of the ongoing efforts of dozens 

of volunteers that the Garry oak 

parklands/meadows will survive as so 

far, there has not been much political 

will to bring in special legislation or 

measures to ensure its viability as de 

velopment continues. 

I encourage your group to include 

natural municipal parks in your stew 

ardship program." 

I received a phone call back within a 

day or two from Ms Aduino who told 

me she'd bring my suggestions to the 

next stewardship organizing meeting. 

In the March/April 1997 issue of the 

BC Naturalist, Ms Aduino writes, 

"CPAWS is grateful for the feedback 

and has implemented most of the sug 

gestions received One ofthe novelties, 

for example, has been not to limit the 

Park Stewardship Program to provin 

cial and national groups, but to include 

ALL protected areas. Stewards of re 

gional parks, wilderness areas, nature 

sancturaries: welcome to the Park 

Stewardship Network." 

I am very pleased that CPAWS had 

decided to include such groups as 

GOMPS. I faxed the forum announce 

ment to several people involved in 

"Friends of" groups and I encourage 

GOMPS members who are also mem 

bers of "Friends of groups to go to 

the forum or have their groups send a 

representative. 

GOMPS AGM 

THURSDAY, 

MARCH 13, 

7:30 P.M. 

SWAN LAKE 

NATURE HOUSE 

Guests: Friends of Govern 

ment House discussing their 

restoration work below Gov 

ernment House and mapping 

that area.

WORKING TOGETHER TO SUSTAIN 

PARKS AND PROTECTED AREAS 

Friday to Sunday, April 11-13, 1997 

Landmark Hotel and Conference Centre 

1400 Robson Street Vancouver, B.C. 

A public forum to: 

Examine needs, choices and solutions in meeting the conservation and recreation 

mandates of parks and protected areas 

Discuss current issues in stewardship and exchange ideas, contacts and 

techniques that work 

Build new mechanisms through which park agencies work with each other, 

with First Nations, and with conservation and recreation organizations to sustain 

parks and protected areas 

Forum themes: 

Working Together — Discuss current mandates and roles of agencies and organizations; 

explore new ways of integrating efforts and working together efficiently. 

Pressures on Conservation and Recreation — Develop approaches to sustaining ecologi 

cal integrity in parks and protected areas while the meeting the needs of recreational users. 

Stewardship — Clarify the roles of stewardship groups in sustaining parks and protected 

areas. Expand the capacity of volunteers to contribute by identifying their needs and pro 

viding networking opportunities. 

Resourcing — Identify new approaches and determine preferences to meet management 

needs for sustaining parks and protected areas. 

Presented by: 

Canadian Parks and Wildnemess Society - BC Chapter 

and Greater Vancouver Regional Parks Department 

In cooperation with: 

BC Parks 

Capital Regional District Parks 

Federation of British Columbia Naturalists 

Outdoor Recreational Council of BC 

Endorsed by: 

British Columbia Environmental Network — Parks and Wilderness Caucus 

For registration package, please contact CPAWS - BC at: 

(604) 685-7445 (phone); (604) 685-6449 (fax) 

cpawsbc@direct.ca 

(e-mail) 

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - BC Chapter 

611-207 W. Hastings Street 

Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1H7 


Garry oak seedlings 

to be planted on 

Gabriola Island 

Gabriola Island teacher Imelda 

Hedingham contacted GOMPS re 

cently as she was concerned about the 

health of the Garry oaks on the island 

and the lack of younger trees. She ar 

ranged to pick up 60 seedlings in late 

February and will plant them with her 

grade 4 and 5 class in Drumbeg Park, 

a provincial park on the southwest of 

the island. Local parks staff were en 

thusiastic and receptive to the idea, she 

said, and will prepare holes for the 

planting after doing some site prepa 

ration by removing broom. 

CALENDAR 

MOUNT 

TOLMIE 

WILDFLOWER WALKS — 

Sundays, March 16 and 30, 1-3 

p.m. Depart from summit view 

point. For more information con 

tact Eric Redekop 595-7270. 

NATIVE PLANT STUDY 

GROUP — Thursday, March 

20,7 p.m. Cornett A, Room 120, 

VIC. Speaker: Shannon Berch: 

Mycorrhizae of native plants. 

VICTORIA NATURAL HIS- 

TORY SOCIETY "GREEN 

THUMB SHOW'1 — Saturday 

March 22,10 a.m.-4 p.m. Garth 

Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Av 

enue. Theme: natural garden 

management. 

VANCOUVER ISLAND 

ROCK AND ALPINE SHOW 

— April 4 and 5, St. Mary's 

CHurch on Elgin Avenue (off 

Oak Bay Avenue). Friday, 2- 9 

p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 

There is often a good selection 

of native plant seeds for sale. 

GOMPS BOARD OF DIREC 

TORS MEETING — Thurs 

day, April 10, 7:30 p.m. at Hal 

Gibbard's, 1439 Wende Road, 

Victoria. 


ONGOING 

GOMPS DISPLAYS: March 8, UVTC Native Plant Symposium 









386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 









E-mail camassia@bc.sympactico.ca 





Development Chair SharronWaite 479-3380 





NAME 

ADDRESS 



Q Donation 

Q Individual $15 Q Family $20 Please send more information about: 

□ Youth and Associate $6 (no newsletter) Q Local sources for Garry oak meadow plants 

Q Gift memberships, send receipt to: 



□ Growing, planting Garry oaks 



newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society Plpril 1997, Vol. 1, Mo 1 

Rogers Farm development 

by Sharron Waite 

In this edition of the Leaflet we are 

publishing the map of the proposed 

subdivision of Rogers Farm. You can 

see the threat to the Garry oak stands. 

Despite the identification of this part 

of the Rogers Farm for preservation 

through successive official community 

plans, the owners plan to divide this 

area with large lots for residential de 

velopment. 

If the plan is approved, an opportu 

nity to increase die size of the Christ 

mas Hill Nature Reserve and complete 

the greenway between Swan Lake and 

Mount Douglas will be lost FOREVER. 

The land under the oaks has never 

been ploughed, so the soil horizons are 

intact. The shrub and herb layer has 

been destroyed by grazing, although a 

few native bulbs do poke through. 

Hence it represents a significant oppor 

tunity to test restoration techniques in 

the Garry oak ecosystem. 

Although the developers promise to 

covenant the remaining oaks, large 

numbers will necessarily be lost from 

the canopy. However, GOMPS' recent 

experience with other developers (see 

the December 1996 Leaflet) demon 

strates how weak a tool a covenant is 

upon which to pin the survival of an 


ROGERS FARM OAK WOODLANDS are just a fence away from Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. GOMPS hopes to see 

this area added to the sanctuary. Another view of the woods is shown on pgeS 


I

e Garry Oak Leaflet - 

The area we would like 

to see added to Christ 

mas Hill Nature Sanctu 

ary are the treed lots 

numbered 34-75.


ecosystem. There appears to be no 

practical way to force an owner or his 

agents to comply with a covenant as 

they are currently drafted in Saanich, 

if they choose to ignore it. 

Saanich planners are in the midst of 

drafting their reports; the matter should 

come before Council in the near future. 

The local ratepayers association sup 

ports the current proposal (single fam 

ily dwellings). Any hope of protecting 

this grove rests squarely with those of 

us who want it preserved. 

The developer's representative has 

told this writer that the purchase price 

for preservation is $ 1.1 million. 

GOMPS was founded in response 

to the threats to Christmas Hill. Can 

we save this little piece of it? GOMPS 

needs help from its members; it will 

take energy and dedication from each 

of us to achieve this goal. 

As I write this, I am sitting in my 

mother-in-law's kitchen in southern 

Saanich planner replies to our concerns 

Re: Rogers Farm Development Unfertunately, in assessing priori 

ties, Council lias indicated that it is 

ifeatikyoiiforyowkttefofJteoh {ot pând Nevertheless, the is- 

13 eK^8$lnf ooncmisôiitê ^ wit be debated as part of the 

development

Lost generation hurts Victoria's 

rare oaks 

VICTORIA'S trademark Garry oaks are 

fading from the City of Gardens as 

the older trees die off with no young ones 

to take their place. 

This spring, 12 volunteers from the Garry 

Oak Meadow Preservation Society finished a 

two-year inventory of Garry oaks in the City 

ofVictoria. The volunteers walked the length 

of Victoria's streets, counting each tree. 

Paul Gareau, who organized the study, 

says the numbers aren't crunched yet, but 

the results are obvious. "The trees we are 

counting are nearly all old-growth trees." 

Younger trees are in short supply, Gareau 

says, falling to development and even to 

lawn mowers. 

The saplings are also more likely to be 

choked out by invasive plants such as Scotch 

broom, the yellow-flowered shrub that over 

The good die young: Paul Gareau 

and some arboreal survivors 

in Beacon Hill Park 

runs many of Victoria's oak groves. 

Mblunteers removing broom from stands of 

Garry oaks find no oak seedlings pushing 

up underneath, says Gareau. 

Botanist Nancy Turner doesn't find the 

inventory's results surprising, given people's 

attitudes toward trees. While it's easy to con 

vince people that stately, mature trees need 

saving, she says, it's harder to argue for 

seedlings and saplings. 

"There's a whole generation of trees that 

hasn't been allowed to grow up and mature," 

she says. 

And although trees' life spans are long, 

they are finite, and the current generation of 

gnarled old oaks are dying off. 

"All of a sudden there won't be any to fill 

their place and the whole population will 

decline," Turner says. 

The City of Victoria's parks department is 

trying to forestall the problem with a twoyear-old 

program of planting seedlings, says 

parks manager Yvan Caron. 

But it's difficult; because Garry oaks grow 

slowly, the young plants go through a long 

period when they are vulnerable to trampling. 

"It's going to be a struggle-there's no 

doubt about it," he says. 

That struggle may not get much help 

from city hall. A draft tree-preservation 

bylaw discussed by civic department heads 

on Tuesday would protect Garry oaks-but 

only those with trunks 20 centimetres or 

more in diameter. 

-Fiona McCaw 

Tree bylaw 

unnecessary, 

Young says 

By Richard Watts 

Times Colonist staff 

Trees in Victoria won't be safe if the 

city proceeds with its tree protection bylaw, 

Coun. Geoff Young said Thursday. 

4The message we are sending out with 

this tree preservation bylaw is that 'trees 

are trouble,'" said Young, during a meet 

ing of council members. 

He said the bylaw will make trees so 

much trouble to keep that homeowners 

will cut them down while they still have 

a chance, before the new rules kick in. 

'The message is clearly 'The best tree 

is a dead tree,'" he said. 

The proposed bylaw seeks to protect 

Garry oaks, arbutus and dogwood trees 

from being thoughtlessly chopped down 

by homeowners or developers. 

The only legal way to chop down a pro 

tected tree would be to apply for a treeremoval 

permit. And approval would only 

be granted if the tree was in the way of an 

approved building, a driveway, parking 

facilities or if it was diseased. 

The proposed bylaw contains fines of 

$500 for a first offence and $1,000 for all 

subsequent offences. 

But Young said the bylaw is unneces 

sary because Victoria has lots of trees. 

"We do not have a problem in Victoria 

with trees," he said. "The general trend is 

that trees have been growing." 

Councillors in the end decided to table 

the bylaw for two weeks to get some 

changes made. 

For example, some councillors were 

upset to see only the native Garry oaks, 

arbutus and dogwood trees protected when 

some non-native, transplanted trees are 

also worthy of protection. 

Coun. David McLean said he was wor 

ried the city might be open to a lawsuit if 

they protect a Garry oak with a bylaw and 

a limb then falls on somebody's house. 

'The Garry oak is an unpredictable tree, 

shedding mighty limbs which otherwise 

appear healthy," said McLean. 

PUBLISHED IN MONDAY 

MAGAZINE 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 1997 

PUBLISHED IN THE 

TIMES-COLONIST 

FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 1997 


■s 2m 

Hi 

lit 

Victoria Council 

balking at tree 

preservation bylaw 

As you can see by the reprinted arti 

cle from the Times Colonist, there still 

isn't much support from council for the 

tree preservation bylaw. Unfortunately, 

the Times Colonist editorial from Sun 

day, March 23 took a similar myopic 

and anthropocentric viewpoint. 

GOMPS directors Pierre d'Estrube 

and Katie Stewart have both written to 

council in response to their doomsday 

attitude and ignorance about how few 

young Garry oaks there are. 

Pierre checked with the other mu 

nicipalities — Oak Bay, Saanich and 

Esquimalt—which do have tree pres 

ervation bylaws and found that there 

had been little tree felling before the 

bylaws took effect. 

The proposed bylaw is supposed to 

come before council this week. Coun 

cil has taken a protractive stance on this 

issue and it has taken years to get to 

this point, where the bylaw might be 

passed. We'll try to be in attendance, 

if possible. 

One note of irony: City of Victoria 

Engineering Parks and Public Works 

has recognized the lack of Garry oak 

regeneration in the parks and has be 

gun a planting program. 

s* 

15 i»S * ? *8-g1! g»|. 

EDITORIAL PUBLISHED IN THE 

TIMES COLONIST SUNDAY MARCH 23, 1997 

R 

Update Conservancy 

Hornby Island 

The injunction scheduled for March 

24 (see March 1997 Garry Oak Leaf 

let) has been postponed twice. 

It is now supposed to be heard in 

Vancouver on Tuesday, Wednesday 

and Thursday, April 8,9 and 10. 

Welcome new 

members 

Michael Meagher, Victoria; Don 

Giacomazzi, Aldergrove; Linda Beare 

and John Olafson, Victoria; Barbara 

Archer, Salt Spring Island and Doris 

Rohlfs and Ray Mills, Victoria. 


New booklet in the Stewardship series 

At the Fourth Annual Native Plant 

Symposium at UVic on March 8, 

GOMPS had its free-standing display 

set up as well as a table. Among our 

free hand-outs, were 20 copies of the 

recently published Stewardship Op 

tions for Private Landowners in British 

Columbia, which were snapped up 

early in the day. 

This excellent booklet was written 

by Briony Penn with wonderful illus 

trations by Briony and her partner, 

Donald Gunn. 

Part 1 covers researching, retaining 

and restoring natural features and habi 

tat — the new 3 R's. The fourth R — 

retaining — is addressed in part 2. 

Included in the first part are a glos 

sary of ecological terms; a map of the 

ecoprovinces of British Columbia; 

landscape vignettes of British Colum 

bia, both drawn and descriptive; gen 

eral stewardship tips and natural fea 

tures and habitats. 

Part 2: Reserving Natural Values on 

your Land: Legal options for Landown 

ers, includes legal terms and legal op 

tions for protecting natural features, 

conservation organizations and land 

trusts, stewardship agreements, trans 

fer of title and tax incentives. 

If you own land that you would like 

to see protected in the short-term or in 

perpetuity, this booklet is a good start 

ing point. 

Copies of this booklet, which is pub 

lished by the Canadian and British 

Columbian governments, are available 

from the Ministry of Environment, 

Lands and Parks, Suite 300-1005 

Broad Street, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2A1, 

phone 1-800-387-9853. 

The Stewardship Series is a group of 

publications describing stewardship for 

various audiences. The series is funded 

by federal and provincial governments 

in partnership with non-government 

organizations on a project by project 

basis. Other publications include: 

Stream Stewardship: A Guidefor Plan 

ners and Developers 

Stewardship 1994: Proceedings from 

a conference held March 3-5,1994 on 

revisiting the land ethic and caring for 

the land 

Water Stewardship: A Guidefor Teach 

ers, Students and Community Groups 

The Streamkeepers Handbook: A Prac 

tical Guide to Stream and Wetland 

Care 

Community Stewardship: A Guide to 

Establishing Your Own Group 

Naturescape British Columbia: Caring 

for Wildlife Habitat at Home 

Community Greenways: Linking Com 

munities to Country, and People to 

Nature 

Opposite on page 7 is a reproduction 

from Stewardship Optionsfor Private 

Landowners in British Columbia, 

CALENDAR 

NATIVE PLANT STUDY GROUP — Thursday, April 17,7 p,m. Cornett 

A, Room 120, UVIC. Speaker: Patrick von Anderkas on fern growing 

and propagating. 

WILDFLOWER WALK — Sundays, April 13 and 27,1-3 p.m. Depart 

from Mount Tolmie summit viewpoint. For more information contact Eric 

Redekop, 595-7270. 

CAMAS DAY — Sunday, April 20, Beacon Hill Park. Wildflower, ar 

chaeological and butterfly walks at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Meet near the flag 

pole. For more information contact Helen Oldershaw 592-6659 eves. 

NATIVE PLANT RESTORATION/BROOM REMOVAL WORK 

SHOP — Sunday, April 20, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Beaver Point Hall and 

Ruckle Provincial Park, Salt Spring Island, sponsored by the Salt Spring 

Island Conservancy. For more information contact Fiona Flook, 653-9202 

or Briony Penn, 653-4880 

EARTH WALK—Saturday, April 26. Leaves Centennial Square at noon, 

proceeds to Legislature. Speakers and displays. 

NATIVE PLANT GARDEN TOUR—Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, 

April 27. Maps $6, available at The Field-Naturalist, 1126 Blanshard Street. 

For more information contact Jean at 658-5740. 

TRIAL ISLAND FIELD TRIP — Sunday, April 27 with Dr. Adolph 

Ceska. Cost $25 includes 1-yr. membership in Friends of Ecological Re 

serves, which is sponsoring the trip. Pre-register at 388-5690. 


' BROADLEAF WOODLANDS 

(Trembling aspm, red alder, black cotlonwood, paper birch, bigleaf 

maple, Garry oak and arbutus woodlands) 

ECOSYSTEM AT ftlSfc SARRY QAK ECOSYSTEM 

European colonists were drawn to Victoria and the 

Woodlands of broadleaf trees are not as extensive in British 

Columbia as they are in other parts of North America. The exception 

is trembling aspen stands which are abundant in the interior and 

north. On the coast, you get a variety of types of woodlands. Early 

succession^ species such as red alder grow in stands on cutover or 

disturbed lands. Big-leaf maples grow in clumps in second growth 

forests, arbutus cling to coastal rocky 

shores and old growth Garry oak 

woodlands grow on the driest sites of the 

Georgia Lowland and are under severe 

threat from urbanization. Cottonwoods 

grow on floodplains throughout the 

province and birch occurs in the interior 

with conifers. Most of these woodlands 

are small and part of the larger mosaic 

of a coniferous forest and its different 

successional stages. Think of alder, birch 

and cottonwood as green fertilizers. They 

fix nitrogen into the soil and make it 

ready for the next stage of conifers to 

grow. Mature alders are a favourite of 

woodpeckers. Herons also prefer mature 

alders for roosts near the shore. 

%nt 

*

Broom biological 

control 

At the Fourth Annual Native Plant 

Symposium at UVIC on March 8, Dr. 

Raj Pasad from the Pacific Forestry 

Centre and two ofhis team spoke about 

their experiments regarding biological 

broom control. 

Broom is now aggressively invading 

clearcuts where it is impeding the 

growth of young planted Douglas-firs. 

Five-year-old seedlings are overshad 

owed by the broom's canopy and are 

not as tall as they would be if there were 

no broom. 

This lack of growth will ultimately 

have an economic effect as broom be 

comes more widespread in planted over 

areas. The federal government is fund 

ing efforts to find some sort of biologi 

cal control. 

The team has discovered that broom 

which has died back has succumbed to 

a local fungus and researchers are con 

centrating their efforts on experiments 

using that fungus as a bioherbicide. Dr. 

Prasad expects it will be a 10-year, $6 

million dollar effort to determine its 

effectiveness, toxicity to other flora and 

fauna. 

Slides wanted 

GOMPS director Sharron Waite gave 

a talk and slide presentation on con 

serving the Garry oak ecosystem at the 

Native Plant Symposium in March. 

To prepare for it, she was able to go 

through and borrow from the slide col 

lection of Willie MacGillivray, site 

manager at the Swan Lake/Christmas 

Hill Nature Sanctuary and she also bor 

rowed a few slides from Eric Redekop. 

We decided we would like to assem 

ble a permanent photographic slide col 

lection for GOMPS. We hope to ob 

tain slides ofnative flora and fauna and 

activities associated with Garry oaks/ 

meadows/woodlands including build 

ing developments, plant rescues, 

broom bashing etc. 

If any members can help out, please 

contact Sharron Waite, 479-3380 or 

Katie Stewart, 396-4792. 


ONGOING 

GOMPS DISPLAYS: April 4, Environmental Awareness Day, UVic 








386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 









E-mail camassia@bc.sympactico.ca 








Director HalGibbard 477-2986 


NAME 

ADDRESS 




□ Donation 


□ Youth and Associate $6 (no newsletter) □ Local sources for Garry oak meadow plants 







newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society May 1997, VoM, ho 5 

Report from CPAWS parks conference 


From April 11-13, GOMPS directors Sharron Waite and 

Katie Stewart attended the "Working Together to Sustain 

Parks and Protected Areas" forum in Vancouver. Its objec 

tive was "to create new ways of working together to meet 

the conservation and recreation mandates of parks and pro 

tected areas in the face of system expansion, increasing use 

and diminishing management resources." 

Yet federal and provincial parks budgets don't reflect 

this importance as other jurisdictions such as health and edu 

cation compete for tax dollars. 

He says we are now being forced to stress economic 

values, i.e. tourism, when land is acquired for parks. One 

succinct quote: "Parks are about the soul, not the wallet." 


The forum brought together many bureaucrats from sev 

eral levels of government — Parks Canada, B.C. Parks, 

Greater Vancouver Regional District Parks (GVRD) and 

Capital Regional District (CRD) Parks — and representa 

tives from many non-governmental organizations from all 

over British Columbia. 

Budget cutbacks 

One dominant message from the first day of the confer 

ence was that many Canadians view their national parks as 

a major symbol of national identity, yet the financial sup 

port required to manage the parks isn't fully there, due to 

federal and provincial budget cutbacks. 

Parks Canada is coping with $97 million less. Dennis 

O'Gorman, assistant deputy minister of BC Parks, didn't 

give a dollar figure but he did say there has been a 40 per 

cent increase in parks usage in recent years. 

BC Parks has the second largest park system in Canada 

(largest is the national system) and has increased its hold 

ings by almost 50 per cent since 1991. And locally, with the 

new Sooke Hills Wilderness Park, CRD Parks will double 

in size. 

Fourteen and half percent ($1.67 million annually to 

the year 2016) of the GVRD Parks budget is allotted to ex 

isting debt charges, thereby limiting funds needed for park 

maintenance and operations. 

According to keynote speaker Harvey Locke, past na 

tional president of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness So 

ciety (CPAWS), in a survey done for BC Parks in 1995, 80 

percent of the respondents rated the preservation of natural THREE ERYTHRONIUM OREGONUM flowers on one stem, 

environments and the protection of wildlife as very impor- There is USUally one flower. 

tant. 

Photo by Katis St6W3rt 

— Garry Oak Leaflet I

alists, spoke about the necessity of Several featured speakers over the 

maintaining and expanding ecological course of the weekend said that within 

a few years the protected areas of BC 

reserves. 

No more protected areas? 

will be completed. Perhaps they meant 

the PAS. 

The provincial government's Pro 

In casual conversations outside of 

tected Area Strategy (PAS) has the 

workshops, several participants disa 

laudable goal of having 12 percent of 

greed with that assumption. Many rep 

the province protected by the year 

resentatives came from all over the 

2000. The goals of the strategy, to quote 

province on behalfof groups which are 

the BC Parks overview given to us "are 

working hard to seek protection of ar 

to conserve representative examples of 

eas of ecological importance. 

B.C.'s diverse ecological and geo 

graphic zones; and special recreational, 

natural and cultural features." 

Jake Masselink, past assistant deputy 

minister of BC Parks, stated emphati 

cally in a panel discussion on finan 

So far 9.2 percent or 8.26 million cial resourcing, that unlike the former 

hectares are protected. However, of the NDP government, which was green, 

100 "ecosections", 27 percent have the current government is brown, and 

more than 12 percent protected, 27 more like the Liberals. 

percent have between 3 and 12 per cent 

protected and 46 percent of the 

Stewardship partnerships 

ecosections have 3 percent or less of 

One way to stretch inadequate finan 

their representative ecosections within 

protected areas. And Garry oak habi 

cial resources is through stewardship 

partnerships. 

tat certainly falls at the bottom end of In 1995 approximately 2500 volun 

that category. 

teers acted as park hosts, built trails, 

Our brief meeting with Environment, Lands 

and Parks Minister Cathy McGregor 

Cathy McGregor spoke at the con Leaflet). 

ference for 15 minutes on Friday af 

Ministerial assistant Roseanne 

ternoon. CPAWS organizers suggested 

Moran asked if we'd sent a letter. (I 

that, rather than Ms McGregor circu 

didn't say, oh yes, to the last two envi 

lating among the afternoon workshops, 

ronment ministers.) We said that we 

people might like an opportunity to 

would. 

meet with the minister for five minutes. 

I rushed over to the sign-up list. Ac 

Subsequent to our conversation, 

cordingly, Sharron, Katie and GOMPS 

Sharron, Willie and I met and drafted 

member Willie Macgillivray, who was 

a letter, with specific mention of the 

also at the conference, discussed over 

Rogers Farm oak woodlands being 

lunch what we could say in five min added to the Christmas Hill Nature 

utes regarding Garry oak habitat. 

Sanctuary, the need for critical legis 

lation and a reminder that although the 

Sharron, our designated speaker, 

Ministry of Environment had pub 

summed up the current states of Garry 

lished a brochure calling the Garry oak 

oak ecosystems and Rogers Farm and 

ecosystem "at risk" in 1993, nothing 

I mentioned the possibility of special 

has been done to protect it since and 

legislation to protected the ecosystem, 

that we've lost and continue to lose, 

as suggested by Calvin Sandborn in his 

even more habitat. 

book Green Space and Growth, Conserving 

Natural Areas in British Co We also invited Ms Moran to view 

lumbia (see October 1996 Garry Oak the critical area of Rogers Farm. 

Conference continued from page 1 

Increasing revenue 

One theme of the forum was to 

look at economic benefits of parks and 

ways to increase revenue. According 

to B.C. Parks figures: 

* parks contribute $420 million to the 

provincial gross domestic product; 

* for each dollar spent on provincial 

parks operations, there were about nine 

dollars in visitor expenditures; 

* about three-quarters of these economic 

benefits occur outside the 

Vancouver and Victoria regions; 

* provincial parks generate $ 171 mil 

lion ($129 million and $42 million) in 

tax revenues for the federal and pro 

vincial governments respectively; 

•the parks budget is $33-1/2 million. 

It was clear, at least at the Parks 

Canada and BC Parks level, that man 

agers are grappling with ways to in 

crease revenue, including corporate 

sponsorships. They maintained that 

parks would never become 

"McArches" parks, but that corpora 

tions could fund, for example, nature 

houses, and are already doing so. 

BC Parks has been able to utilize 

money from Forest Renewal British 

Columbia: 144 projects such as trail 

development and upgrading and 

campground development have been 

funded over the last two fiscal years, a 

value of $13.6 million. 

Response of NGO's 

NGO's have other concerns besides 

finance. They cite Banff as the most 

obvious example of commercialization 

run amuck. Ecological integrity of 

parks is the prime concern of CPAWS. 

Panelist Mark Haddock, a CPAWS 

director, said strong legislation regard 

ing conservation was needed, ecologi 

cal inventories were necessary and 

proper planning with strict environ 

mental assessments has to occur before 

any commercial development. 

Another panelist, Frances Vyse, past 

president of the Federation ofBC Natue 


monitored ecological reserves and pro 

vided a variety ofother services for BC 

Parks. 

One example given was from a rep 

resentative of GETPARC — Golden 

Ears Trail Preservation and Restoration 

Club. User groups—hikers, field natu 

ralists, equestrians, llama packers and 

mountain bikers — are working by 

consensus within a society structure to 

preserve and restore 60 km of trails 

within the heavily used Fraser Valley 

park. They are fund raising to achieve 

this and are an active participant in de 

cision making with BC Parks. 

Last year GVRD Parks formed a Re 

gional Partnership Steering Committee 

and designated four pilot parks sites for 

partnership associations with commu 

nity groups, including Pacific Spirit 

Park (formerly the University of Brit 

ish Columbia endowment lands). 

These park partnership associations 

are "community-based, non-profit vol 

untary organizations that provide fo 

rums to bring citizens together, in part 

nership with the GVRD, to plan and 

co-manage regional parks," according 

to the GVRD Parks background paper. 

They are "essential," according to the 

same paper. 

Parks stewardship program 

Another focus of the forum was to 

establish a parks stewardship program 

through CPAWS. Its goals, according 

to the draft paper prepared for the fo 

rum, would be to promote ecological 

integrity within the protected area sys 

tem of British Columbia and to build 

the capacity of grassroots groups to 

protect the ecological integrity of pro 

tected areas. 

The draft paper, written by Serena 

Aduino of CPAWS, listed many items 

for possible discussion during work 

shops. My group barely got into it. We 

got bogged down over the exclusion 

of the advocacy (lobbying) role that is 

an important function of some groups, 

including GOMPS. 

Sharron and I both think that is also 

a part of stewardship but CPAWS or 

ganizers don't want to include that 

within the mandate of a stewardship 

network. 

Discussion late Saturday and Sunday 

morning indicated that the number one 

issue for most groups is having the re 

sources to function effectively, includ 

ing access to bureaucracy, information, 

training and expertise. And, of course, 

money. 

Unfortunately, I didn't take many 

notes during the stewardship work 

shops. However, I can say that CPAWS 

will initiate a parks stewardship pro 

gram and that we will have further op 

portunities for input. 

Networking at the conference 

One valuable result of conferences 

is, of course, making contacts. 

□ Kate Smallwood, coordinator for 

the BC Endangered Species Coalition, 

sought me out and thought GOMPS 

would be a natural ally, since many 

plant species of the Garry oak ecosys 

tem are rare and endangered and ought 

to have protected status. 

□ Audra Fast, coordinator for 

CPAWS' Grasslands Conservation 

Council, told Sharron and I of the sec 

ond grasslands symposium which had 

been held in Naramata, B.C. in Decem 

ber 1996. She suggested GOMPS 

might like to be included in the coun 

cil. She is preparing a brochure which 

will include the Garry oak ecosystem. 

□ John Brady, a member of the Victo 

ria Natural History Society Parks and 

Conservation Committee and I discov 

ered that we are both interested in or 

ganizing a conference on stewardship 

issues, hopefully with CRD Parks, to 

which municipal and other parks staff 

in the Victoria region as well as local 

"Friends of and conservancy groups 

will be invited. Since the forum John 

has already met with Lloyd Rushton, 

CRD Parks Administrator. John and I 

have also had a meeting and will draft 

a letter in early June to go out to all the 

groups we can think of to see if there 

is interest. 

□ Sharron and Katie met Anne 

Morrison, GVRD Community Devel 

opment Coordinator and will arrange 

with her to come to Victoria to con 

duct a volunteer development work 

shop to which local groups will be in 

vited. 

Wanted — 

significant oak trees 

Eric Redekop would like to photo 

graph beautiful and stately Garry oaks 

as well as oaks of personal significance 

to people, such as a tree with a swing 

on it. He also wants to photograph oak 

stumps, preferably recently cut with 

sawdust alongside, or oak trees in the 

process of being cut down. If you can 

help, please phone him at S9S-7270. 

GOMPS Board 

The Board of Directors has changed 

slightly since the March Annual Gen 

eral Meeting. 

There was no rush of candidates 

seeking directorships, so all five of the 

existing directors were acclaimed. 

However, our constitution states that 

no director can serve more than two 

terms in an office, so Hal Gibbard has 

assumed the position of treasurer. 

Many thanks to Tom Gillespie for 

his work ofkeeping the society's books 

together for the last four years. 

Visit Eric's garden 

Eric Redekop welcomes any 

GOMPS member who would like to 

view his native plant garden, now in 

bloom. Much of the material was sal 

vaged from the highway widening 

project. Call 595-7270 to arrange a 

time of you are interested. 


BC Endangered Species Coalition 

by Kate Smallwood 

Dear Friends: 

If you are concerned about the fate 

of biodiversity and endangered species 

in British Columbia, the B.C. Endan 

gered Species Coalition needs your 

help! 

We can not wait any longer... 

It is already too late for the whitetailed 

jackrabbit, the sage grouse, the 

yellow-billed cuckoo, the short-horned 

lizard, and many others. They have 

joined the ranks of the passenger pi 

geon. They are extinct or gone forever 

from British Columbia. 

British Columbia has greater eco 

logical and biodiversity than any other 

Canadian province or territory, but the 

province's ecosystems and species are 

under serious threat from habitat loss 

and other factors. 

According to the Ministry of Envi 

ronment, 68 of B.C. 's species of verte 

brate plants and 224 of our vascular 

plants are threatened or endangered (or 

candidates for these designations). 

Another 451 species are considered 

vulnerable. 

Efforts to improve this situation are 

seriously hampered by the fact that 

B.C. has no endangered species legis 

lation. Existing provisions under the 

Wildlife Act have been essentially in 

effective due to their highly discretion 

ary nature and limited coverage. 

The time is ripe for the provincial 

government to enact legislation to safe 

guard endangered species and their 

habitat. The provincial government has 

pledged itselfto fill this legislative gap 

more than once. 

Federal legislation promised for fall 

1996 will do little to save endangered 

species without a strong commitment 

from the provinces to do their part. 

The BC Endangered Species Coali 

tion is a group of environmental and 

community groups who support the 


following points for law reform. We 

urge you to join the coalition by en 

dorsing this platform! 

1. Provincial endangered species 

legislation should require that all spe 

cies which are endangered, threatened 

or vulnerable ushall" be listedforpro 

tection. 

Because of the discretionary nature 

of the process, in the history of the 

Wildlife Act only four species have 

ever been designated as threatened or 

endangered. 

Under the current law, plants, inver 

tebrates and even fish are excluded! 

Listing must be mandatory. Species 

should be defined broadly to cover all 

types of plant and animal life, includ 

ing subspecies and geographically dis 

tinct populations. 

2. Identification ofthe habitat ofall 

listed species should be mandatory. 

The new endangered species law 

should automatically protect the criti 

cal habitat ofthreatened or endangered 

species. 

Habitat destruction is the number one 

cause of species decline in Canada. Ef 

fective endangered species legislation 

should have priority over other land use 

legislation and the new law should ap 

ply to public and private lands. 

All projects and activities which may 

affect listed species or their habitat 

should undergo advance review, in 

cluding environmental assessment. 

The provincial government and each 

of its ministries should ensure that all 

provincial policies, programs and ac 

tions are consistent with the protection 

ofbiodiversity and in particular, of spe 

cies at risk. 

Activities which cannot be con 

ducted without adversely affecting 

threatened or endangered species, or 

their critical habitat, should not pro 

ceed. 

3. Listing and habitat identification 

should be carried out on the recom 

mendation of a Scientific Advisory 

Board and based soled on ecological 

and scientific principles. There should 

be opportunitiesfor public involvement 

and traditional knowledge should be 

fully integrated in the process. 

All species that are truly threatened 

or endangered should receive legal pro 

tection, regardless of political expedi 

ency. Aboriginal people, landowners 

and other community members often 

have significant expertise regarding 

species at risk. 

4. The legislation should prohibit a 

broad range of activities harmful to 

listed species, including: harassing, 

wounding, killing and capturing them. 

It should also be offence to collect, 

possess, import, export, trade in or 

transport species at risk, and the law 

should cover any attempts to carry out 

such activities. 

The prohibitions in the legislation 

should be designed to provide maxi 

mum protection for species at risk. 

All developmental stages of species 

should be protected, as should parts and 

derivatives derived from those species. 

Penalties should be severe enough to 

provide a genuine deterrent. 

Exceptions from these prohibitions 

would only be available in limited 

cases, such as activities particular to 

the heritage of aboriginal peoples (if 

the activity won't significantly under 

mine the survival or recovery of the 

species in the wild, and all measures 

to minimize the impact of the action 

have been taken) or to prevent imme 

diate threats to human safety. 

5. The legislation should require the 

development and implementation of 

recovery plans for listed species. 

Ecosystem based recovery efforts are 

essential to stabilizing and improving 

the situation of endangered species. A 

recovery team consisting of persons 

with expertise about the species, in-

eluding aboriginal groups and officials 

from affected government departments, 

should be assembled for each species. 

Recovery plans must have legal force. 

In 1994 the provincial environment 

minister told representatives of the BC 

Endangered Species Coalition that he 

was not convinced there was sufficient 

public support for an Endangered Spe 

cies Act. We know this is not the case! 

Let the provincial government know 

that British Columbians want strongly 

enforced legislation to protect endan 

gered species and their habitat. Join the 

coalition of groups who support law 

reform in this area. 

If you have any questions, contact 

me, the Campaign Coordinator at 604- 

601-2507 or 1-800-330-9235. Our ad 

dress is Endangered Species Coalition, 

c/o West Coast Environmental Law 

Assoc, 1001-207 West Hastings St., 

Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1H7. Donations 

are welcome and are tax-deductible. 

Ed. note. I met Kate at the parks fo 

rum in Vancouver The GOMPS board 

will discuss GOMPS becoming a mem 

ber of the coalition at our May board 

meeting. I am not sure whether or not 

the coalition intends to "make use of" 

the Conservation Data Centre. I 

thought I d include a little information 

about it. 

The British Columbia Conservation 

Data Centre (CDC) has been collect 

ing data since 1991 on endangered spe 

cies. According to their brochure, per 

sonnel use a "combination of compu 

ter, map and paper files to retrieve and 

analyze the location of threatened and 

endangered elements (plants, animals 

and communities) in British Columbia. 

'The CDC uses information from 

scientists, naturalists, published and 

unpublished reports and museum col 

lections. These data are augmented and 

updated with field work by the CDC 

scientists and cooperators." 

According to their web site on the 

internet, the CDC "is also a partner of 

the Natural Heritage Network, an in 

ternational oiganization of cooperating 

conservation data centres and heritage 

programs all using the same method 

ology to gather and exchange informa 

tion on the threatened elements of 

biodiversity." 

The CDC uses an established rank 

ing system, both globally and provincially. 

For example, the yellow 

montane violet (viola praemorsa ssp 

praemorsa) I mention in my 44notes 

from the president" column, is rated as 

"imperilled provincially because of 

extreme rarity or because of some 

factor(s) making it especially vulner 

able to extinction. Typically 6 to 20 

occurrences or few remaining individu 

als (1,000 to 3,000)." 

Wildflower conservation award 

The Canadian Wildlflower Society 

honoured the Garry Oak Meadow Pres 

ervation Society by giving our society 

one of its three annual conservation 

awards last fall at their annual general 

meeting for our "successful efforts to 

educate the public and preserve Garry 

oak habitat on Vancouver Island." 

The award, a beautifully framed print 

by Pamela Meacher, arrived just in time 

for our AGM meeting in March. The 

Board of Directors has asked Willie 

Macgillivray, site manager for Swan 

Lake/Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, 

if it could be hung at the Swan Lake 

Nature House. So look for it there, fel 

low members. Unfortunately, our at 

tempts at photographing it for replica- 

Welcome new members 

Mona J. Hoi ley, Victoria; Dr. David 

G. Edwards, Victoria; Bob McKechnie, 

Victoria; Harold Macy, Courtenay; 

Jason Lesage, Victoria; Betty and Allen 

Brooks, Black Creek; Melda 

Buchanan, Comox and Norma Morton, 

Comox. 

GOMPS on internet 

Although GOMPS does not yet have 

an internet home page, we do have 

some presence in the Langford Lake 

Area Protection Society's site. 

Check out www.ultranet.ca/ 

LLAPS.index.html — there is a map 

of native vegetative zones and under 

native plant communities, quite a bit 

(from our brochure) on Garry oak com 

munities and information on contact 

ing GOMPS. 

tion in the newsletter were not success 

ful. 

The Board very much appreciates the 

Canadian Wildflower Society's recog 

nition of our society's efforts. 

The other recipients of the award 

were the Windsor Tree Commission, 

Windsor, Nova Scotia for their "exem 

plary work in the regreening of public 

and private property, and school 

grounds, with native plants, using an 

ecosystem community involvement 

approach and Norris Denman for his 

decade of outstanding writing in 

Wildflower magazine. His unique 

blend of solid science and folksy style 

have made Norris one of Wildflower's 

most popular writers." 

Calendar 

WILDFLOWER WALK — 

Sundays, May 18, June 1 and 

15,1-3 p.m. Depart from Mount 

Tolmie summit viewpoint. Call 

Eric Redekop, 595-7270. 

BIOREGIONAL MAPPING 

WORKSHOP—Sunday, May 

18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. UVIC down 

town campus, 110-910 Govern 

ment Street. For details, call Silas 

598-6383 or DIGS 386-3447. 

SOCIETY FOR CONSERVA 

TION BIOLOGY CONVEN 

TION — Friday, June 6 -Mon 

day, June 9, UVIC. For informa 

tion contact Pat McGuire, Con 

ference Management, University 

of Victoria, P.O. Box 3030, Vic 

toria, B.C. V8W 3N6. Phone 721- 

8470, fax 721-8774. 


What you can do in 5 minutes to help protect an oak meadow 

by Janet Simpson 

At the north end of the Juan de Fuca 

Recreation Centre grounds is a beauti 

ful camas-covered meadow of young 

and mature Garry oaks. While 

Colwood's Official Community Plan 

recognizes this area as "ecologically 

sensitive" and one of the handful of 

dominant Garry oak, arbutus and as 

pen woodlands in the community, the 

Rec. Centre has deemed it appropriate 

to allow for 18 disc-golf (or frisbeegolf) 

runs to crisscross the meadow. 

Existing damage and potential dan 

ger to the meadow is obvious: discs 

frequently hit trees instead of the metal 

cylinders they are aimed at (the loud 

ringing of a disc hitting a cylinder in 

dicates the force with which the oak 

would be hit), white directional signs 

have been nailed into oaks, trails run 

over oak roots, wildflowers are crushed 

and the course advocates admit that the 

area "poses a significant fire hazard 

during dry weather." 

This disc-golf course was approved 

on a trial basis; its continuation will 

be approved or denied in September. 

The brochure handed out to partici 

pants cautions them, "Do not act in a 

manner that would jeopardize its con 

tinued existence." There is another 9- 

hole "natural object course" beside the 

Rotary Park. 

The "course pro" is Mike McCrae, 

at 477-8428. He has assembled a site 

on the internet — www.islandnet.com/ 

discgolf — where he credits himself 

for making the first designated disc golf 

course in Victoria possible. Apparently 

he put together a formal proposal with 

a 300-signature petition to the Juan de 

Fuca Parks and Recreation Commis 

sion in July 1996 and received their 

support. He also credits the person who 

"spotted this place over a decade ago." 

The internet site features photos of 

the rocky outcrops and course and 

some descriptions of the course. It also 

gives explicit directions for players 

coming from the ferry or by bus or bike 

to get to the site. This will not be a mini 

mal-use site. 

This summer the Canadian National 

championships are being held in Vic 

toria on July 21, "the World Cup Tuneup 

Tourney." You can imagine the use 

the course is going to get at that time. 

Using this area will severely impact the 

oak meadows. 

The more phone calls and letters the 

Rec Centre administration receives, the 

less inclined it will be to endorse the 

destruction of its most precious natu 

ral feature. 

Write to Brian Storrier, 

Head Administrator 

Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre 

1767 Island Highway 

Victoria, B.C. V9B Ul 

or phone him at 478-8384 or fax him 

at 474-8650 or call me to join forces, 

381-6657. 

Centennial pool 

fc UPPER SITE PARKING { 

Area within dark circled area 

is full of Garry oaks 


IN A NUTSHELL: 

NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT 

Don Vincent, husband of the late 

Wilma Vincent, a former GOMPS di 

rector, died on April 30. Don and 

Wilma lived on Blenkinsop Road, 

where they moved in the fall of 19721 

The following spring, they discovered 

Yvildflowers growing in the lawn 

among the oaks. 

For the remainder of their lives, they 

nurtured the wildflowers, which flour 

ished and multiplied as a result of the 

Vincents adapting to the natural cycles 

of the shooting stars, fawn and choco 

late lilies and camas before mowing 

their lawn. 

Despite admonitions from some peo 

ple to cut the "unsightly" stems and 

grass once the flowers had bloomed 

and begun to fade, the Vincents al 

lowed the plants to set their seed, re 

sulting in the spreading of the 

wildflowers over their 1/2-acre prop 

erty. 

The Vincents' yard was often pho 

tographed, most recently in an article 

in Canadian Gardening (see next 

item). 

The April 1997 edition of Canadian 

Gardening magazine featured on arti 

cle called "To Preserve mid Protect" 

by Peter Symcox. In it, Mr. Symcox 

lamented about thêndangered state of 

the Garry oak ecosystem, and featured 

five homeowners, including Don Vin 

cent, in the Victoria area who retain 

parts of their property in a natural state. 

"Only a few clumps of camas, Easter 

lilies or other wildflowers are found 

today, so ruthless has been their exter 

mination by recent development prac 

tices. It seems that to colonize meant 

not only to relocate native people ... 

but to eradicate an entire arboreal eco 

system. It's precisely for this reason 

that many people are attempting to pre 

serve the few remaining stands of 

wildflowers on private properties, and 

to recreate, even in small areas, the 

savannah-like parklands ofyesteryear." 

Mr. Symcox also took the excellent 

colour photographs of the five proper 

ties featured, including close-ups of 

camas, satin-flowers and fawn lilies. 

Just back from a walk through Sum 

mit Park, the closest Garry oak 

meadow to my house. I was infiiriated 

a few weeks ago when I noticed that 

someone had dug up a large area of 

grass on one side of the main path and 

there was even a larger pile on the 

other, where some of the dirt was piled 

up. I couldn't figure out if someone was 

digging up camas or trying to dig up a 

bush. 

I found out from another member of 

Friends of Summit Park that an adult 

male had decided to make a hill tojump 

his bike over. Another visitor to the 

park noticed him digging but didn't say 

anything. I was afraid the dirt was piled 

over an area of the very endangered 

prairie violet (viola praemorsa) but 

was relieved tonight to find the patch 

elsewhere as I looked carefully for it. 

City crews do, however, mow over a 

small section of the violets, unfortu 

nately, and we'll have to point it out to 

them. 

I saw two dogs romping through the 

meadows, so I said to die nearest owner 

as she approached me, "Your dog is 

supposed to be on a leash." She gave 

me a sour look and said, "Oh come on, 

this is my park. I've lived here all my 

life." 

I said, "This is a natural park and 

your dog shouldn't be tearing through 

the flowers. There's a sign posted by 

the entrance," and I pointed to it. She 

said, "My dog is only a pup." 

I replied, "Everyone thinks they 

should be the exception, like the peo 

ple who ignore the 'Do not pick the 

wildflowers sign,'" and I walked away. 

I'm going to keep approaching peo 

ple, though I'm not comfortable doing 

it, rather than let something slide by 

me that disturbs me. 

On a rainy April 30,1 visited Hornby 

Island to see what the "1000 Oaks 

Grove" looks like in spring. Hornby 

is farther north than Victoria, so fawn 

lilies were still in bloom, and the first 

of the camas were just beginning to 

bloom. In the grove, three deer were 

munching in the meadow. I noticed 

many species of meadow plants. I was 

most surprised, though, to see in adja 

cent Helliwell Park, the largest num 

bers of chocolate lilies I have ever seen. 

These were not readily accessible to 

the deer, however, but underneath pine 

trees on the cliffs above the sea. 

Conservancy Hornby Island lost its 

appeal against the approval of the 

"1000 Oaks Grove." John Edward, 

who attended the proceedings in Van 

couver on behalf of the conservancy, 

said they lost on all die points they 

brought up, including public interest 

being ignored. He told me the judge 

said that the approving officer is not 

obligated to respond to the public in 

terest. 

Keith Sorensen, the developer, can 

now register the lots. Mr. Edward said 

that at least two dwellings will be built 

in the oak grove and others will be built 

on the edge. 

The conservancy does not have the 

funds to do a further appeal and may 

be obligated to pay for court costs of 

the April appeal. 

While I was in the Courtenay area, I 

noticed a sign on the highway for na 

tive plants. When I tracked down the 

location, I found Streamside Native 




Plants, a two-year-old business oper 

ated by Richard and Barbara Proctor. 

Their catalogue is substantial, with 

over 143 species listed. Some species 

are available are from the Garry oak 

ecosystem, including Garry oaks. 

The nursery is located in a cleared 

and wooded area. Mr. Porter took me 

for a walk along a stream on the prop 

erty, which he says gives prospective 

plant buyers some idea ofplants in their 

natural setting. Many trillium and fawn 

lilies were in full bloom and devil's 

club, which forms some of the ripar 

ian canopy, was just coining into leaf. 

A salmonid enhancement project is 

underway in the stream. 

Mr. Porter told me that the two beds 

of camas he knew of near Courtenay 

had been destroyed, one last year by 

herbicide and another this year by be 

ing ploughed. He had tried to get per 

mission to dig up some of the camas 

but had been refused. 

Streamside Native Plants is located 

at 3300 Fraser Road, Courtenay. Mail 

ing address is R.R. #6, Site 695, C6, 

Courtenay, B.C. V9N 8H9. Tel./fax 

250-338-7509. e-mail: 

barport@mars.ark.com http:// 

mars.ark.com/-barport/streamside.htm 

GOMPS member Jim Rainer told 

me sometime ago that the site of the 

Pacific Horticultural Centre had once 

included a large area of calypso 

bulbosa. I wonder if other people still 

remember wildflower areas of signifi 

cance prior to their being lost to devel 

opment. I was thinking along the lines 

of an oral history project, detailing 

what has been lost. 

Once that kind of information is gone 

from living memory, no-one will real 

ize what used to be prior to develop 

ments such as Broadmead. Such a 

project could highlight how important 

it is to protect the few remaining frag 

ments. If any GOMPS member is in 

terested in such an undertaking, please 

contact me at 386-4792. 


ONGOING 

GOMPS DISPLAYS: Phone 386-4792 for possible locations 





Proceedings for sale. Call Tom Gillespie at 361 -1694. 



386-4792. 





TORY PROJECT. Project coordinator is Paul Gareau, 592-9089, 

NEWSLETTER 









e-mail camassia@bc.sympactico.ca 

Vice-President Pierre d'Estnite 477-2410 

Treasurer and Finance Chair Hal Gibbard 477-2986 


Development Chair SharronWaite 479-3380 


e-mail upgareau@islandnet.com 

Director Tom Gillespie 361-1694 

e-mail ua@620freenet.victoria.bc.ca 


NAME 

ADDRESS 



□ Donation 

Q Individual $15 □ Family $20 Please send more information about: 



__ 

□ Gany Oak Inventory Project 




PETITION FOR BC ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT 

To: Premier Glen Clark and Members of Cabinet 

BC Ministry of Environment statistics show that BC currently has 68 species of animals and 224 species of 

plants that are endangered or threatened. An additional 451 species are classified as vulnerable, and the 

numbers are increasing. 

It is already too late for the passenger pigeon and the Dragon Lake Whitefish - they are now extinct. Other 

species like the sage grouse and the yellow-billed cuckoo are no longer found in British Columbia. Our rich 

biological heritage is at risk. 

Unlike four other provinces (Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec and New Brunswick), BC has no Endangered 

Species Act. Yet last year, BCs Environment Minister signed the National Accordfor the Protection of 

Species At Risk in Canada. A key component of the National Accord is the commitment to pass 

complementary federal and provincial endangered species legislation. The federal government has tabled its 

legislation, the Canada Endangered Species Protection Act, and it is now time for BC to follow suit. 

Existing'provincial initiatives like the BC Wildlife Act, the Forest Practices Code and the Protected Areas 

Strategy do NOT adequately address the requirements of the National Accord. Separate, comprehensive 

BC endangered species legislation is required. We respectfully request that the BC Government honour its 

commitments under the National Accord and pass a BC Endangered Species Act. 

British Columbia's heritage deserves no less. 

Signed: 

Print Name Print Address and Postal Code Signature

PETITION IN FAVOUR OF BC ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (cont.) 

Print Name 

Print Address and Postal Code 

Signature 

< 

• 

•


newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society June 1997, Vol .i.Ho.6 




May and June so far have been unu 

sually busy for GOMPS phone calls. 

Some weeks, there may be only one or 

two calls. This week, there were 19. 

And then there's e-mail... 

Two calls, in particular, have made 

me think about our advocacy role. One, 

from an anonymous male, was left on 

my answering machine on Friday, June 

6 concerning property being rezoned 

at 1420 and 1440 Mt. Douglas Cross 

Roads, which is coming before Saanich 

Council on June 16. 

Part of his message said, "I just have 

a concern about the wildlife and the 

oaks. I just don't know what to do about 

it but I'm trying to report this to some 

one that can do something about it. 

This is really a concern." 

The second phone call was from a 

UVIC student preparing a paper on an 

advocacy group — the fourth UVIC 

student since last year seeking infor 

mation for a paper. I spent a half hour 

on the phone and left our brochure and 


VICTORIA "CITY OF GARDENS" in full meadow splendour in the triangle at Beach Drive and Midland Road in Uplands. 

Photo by Katie Stewart 

, _ Garry Oak Leaflet I

Study of acorn feeding insects on Garry oaks in the 

Southeastern Vancouver Island area 

by Doris Rohlfs 

The Garry oak (Quercus garryana) 

is the only oak native to B.C. (Farrar, 

1995) and is restricted primarily to the 

southeast tip of Vancouver Island and 

the southern Gulf Islands. 

Because of poor regeneration of the 

Garry oak there is interest in the in 

sects that infest and damage the acorns. 

There are two acorn boring insects, 

both native to North America, which 

reduce survival and regeneration capa 

bilities of Garry oak. These are the fil 

bert weevil and the filbertworm 

(Passon, 1964; AliNiazee, 1980). 

The value ofthe Garry oak landscape 

to society is now being recognized and 

appreciated and the Victoria City 

Council adopted a resolution identify 

ing the historical and ecological sig 

nificance of the Garry oak ecosystem 

(Erickson, 1993). 

Garry oak is not only a unique spe 

cies, but the Garry oak ecosystem has 

a higher concentration of rare plant 

species when compared to the rest of 

the province. 

Garry oak ecosystems have been 

identified as "hot spots" of biological 

diversity (Erickson. 1993). The decline 

of Garry oak trees would inevitably 

result in a decline in these other rare 

plant species. 

As human development encroaches 

on the Garry oak habitat the damage 

caused by these two insects is ampli 

fied; research on insect pests of Garry 

oak in British Columbia is essential if 

we want to preserve and protect the 

biodiversity harboured by the unique 

Garry oak ecosystem. 

The filbert weevil and filbertworm 

females oviposit into and on the acorns 

respectively, while the acorns on still 

on the tree (Lewis, 1992). Damage to 

£ Garry Oak Leaflet— 

coast live oak acorns has been shown 

to be as high as 80 per cent in South 

ern California, where the filbertworm 

may have as many as two generations 

per year (Keen 1958, Furniss and 

Carolin 1977, Lewis 1992). 

No study on acorn infesting insects 

has been conducted on Garry oak trees 

in British Columbia and neither the 

proportion of the acorns infested by 

these insects nor the proportion of the 

infested acorns that may germinate and 

grow into seedlings is known. 

Data on these are needed if the pres 

ence ofthis ecologically unique tree on 

Vancouver Island is to be maintained. 

By determining the biology of the 

insects damaging Garry oak acorns, 

one may discover a "weak" link in the 

biology that might suggest potential 

ways to control the pest and reduce its 

damage to the acorns, therefore in 

creasing the germination potential of 

the acorns. 

The data obtained during the study 

would be a practical step in protecting 

the unique Garry oak ecosystem and 

preserving biodiversity. 

Objectives: 

The overall goal of the proposal is 

to determine the extent of damage 

caused by the two acorn infesting in 

sects and suggest possible ways to re 

duce the amount of this damage. 

This proposal has five specific ob 

jectives: 

1) Determine the proportion ofGany 

oak acorns infested by the filbert wee 

vil and the filbertworm at 10 locations 

in the Greater Victoria area, and at two 

locations on two of the Gulf Islands. 

2) Determine a:) the life history of 

the more damaging species ofthese two 

pests 

b) identify parasitoids, if any, of this 

insect and 

c) determine the role of the 

parasitoids in regulating the pest 

populations. 

3) Investigate the relationship be 

tween acorn size and infestation rates. 

4) Determine the proportion of in 

fested acorns that can germinate into 

viable seedlings. 

5) Determine the life history of less 

damaging insect attacking Garry oak 

acorns. 

References: 

AliNiazee, M.T. 1980. Insect and 

mite pests of filberts. Oregon Agricul 

tural Experiment Station Bulletin, 643. 

p.2-6. 

Erickson, W. 1993. Garry oak eco 

systems. Province ofBritish Columbia, 

Ministry of Environment, Lands and 

Parks. 

Farrar, J.L. 1995. Fitzheniy 

& Whiteside Limited, Canadian For 

est Service, Natural Resources Canada, 

p.264-265. 

Furniss, R.L. and V.M. Carolin. 

1977. Western forest insects. USDA 

Forest Service Misc. Publ. 1339. 

Keen, F.P. 1958. Cone and Seed in 

sects of western forest trees. USDA 

Tech. Bull. 

1169. p.43,145-146. 

Lewis, VR. 1992. Within-tree distri 

bution of acorns infested by Curculio 

occidentis and Cydia latiferreana. 

Environ. Entomol. 21(5). P.99-121 

Passon, D.E. Controlling the filbert 

moth. Proc. Oreg. Wash. Nut Growers 

Soc. 50: 29-30 

All photos by Doris Rohlfs

Filbertworm (Cydia latiferreana) egg 

Emergence holes (left) filbert weevil 

— round hole; (right) filbertworm — 

oval hole 

Filbert weevil acorn damage 

Filbert weevil (Curculio occidentis) 

egg 

Acorn study needs funding 

Filbertworm acorn damage 

Filbert weevil larva 

Filbert weevil adult 


Doris Rohlfs has already begun her 

studies for her masters thesis on the 

filbertworm and filbert weevil acorn 

damage under the supervision of Dr. 

Imre Otvos at the Pacific Forestry Cen 

tre. 

She will be continuing this research 

project for the next two years and hopes 

to find a biological control for these 

destructive insects. Unfortunately, her 

search for on-going funding has, so far, 

not been successful. 

She applied to Forest Renewal B.C., 

with a letter of support from GOMPS 

outlining how endangered the Garry 

oak ecosystem is, how little regenera 

tion there has been and the value we 

perceived regarding her studies, but she 

was turned down, as the Garry oak is 

not a commercial species. 

GOMPS Director Paul Gareau has 

undertaken to try to find more fund 

ing, by writing letters to the various 

municipalities and foundations. 

It is too late for applying for funding 

this year under the Habitat Conserva 

tion Trust Fund, but we can apply by 

November 1 for next year. 

Doris estimates she will need 

$21,000 each this year and next. If any 

GOMPS members can think of any 

funding sources, please contact Paul 

Gareau at 592-9089. 

-Garry Oak Leaflet 3

24th Annual Natural Areas Conference 

Exotic Pest Plant Council Conference 

THEME: BRIDGING NATURAL AND 

August 27-30, 1997 

Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center, Portland, Oregon 

Plenary Session — Wed., August 27 

Keynote Address 

The Cultural in Natural Landscapes: William Robbins. Prof. History, Oregon State University 

Plenary Speakers 

Is Wilderness a Social Construct?: Holmes Rolston, Prof. Philosophy, Colorado State University 

The Ecological Importance of Natural Areas: Steve Trombulak, Chair and Prof, of Biology, Dept. of Biology, 

Middlebury College, Vermont 

Natural Preserves in the Era of Virtual Reality: Deborah Jensen, Vice Pres. for Science, Nature Conservancy, 

Virginia 

Obtaining, Retaining and Maintaining Protected Areas: Biological vs. Social Strategies — What Works 

Best?: Gerald Wright. Prof., Dept. of Wildlife. University of Idaho 

Wilderness, Jaguars and Ranchers: Broad-Based Citizens' Reserve Design for the Southwest: Dave 

Foreman, Chair, The Wildlands Project Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Banquet Address, Thursday, Aug. 28 

Can We Save the West?: Felice Pace, Executive Director, Klamath Forest Alliance, Yreka, California 

Concurrent Sessions — Thursday, Aug. 28 and/or Sat., August 30 

Symposia 

General Sessions 

1. New and Increasing Uses of Native Species ] Q Exotjc Spedes 

2. Urban and Rural Use and Perceptions of ,,; Rre. Ec(ôgy pub|jc ^speca* and Use 

Nl 

Natural 

AAreas 12. interpreting our Natural World: Telling Stories 

3. Native American Perspect«ves on Natural ThrQugh Environmental ,nterpretation 

Area Management , 3 Educatjon and Otner Uses of Natural Areas 

4. Role of Natural Areas in Ecosystem Management , 4 Soda| and Ecol jca| lmplications of Grazing - 

5. Natural Hydrologic Regimes Domestic and Wild 

6. Exotics in the Landscape 15 |nvertebrates and Natural Area Management 

7. What is Natural: An Interdisciplinary Roundtable ,6 Non.Vascular Plants and Naturai Area 

8. Ecosystem Conservation Management 

9. International Natural Areas Conservation 

Conference Field Trips — Friday, Aug. 29 — 12 choices, including Willamette Valley Natural Areas: 

Finley National Wildlife Refuge (3 sites, including Pigeon Butte. featuring Oregon white oak [Garry oak] 

woodland, "which is, in the absence of fire, succeeding to a Douglas-fir forest." 

Costs: Full Registration received before August 6, US $ 130 (students US S100); after August 6, US $ 150 

(students US $120). Daily registration US $55. 

INFORMATION: 1997 NAA/EPPC CONFERENCE. P.O. Box 23712, Tigard, OR 97281-3712 


Seed Source 

We have recently received a catalogue from Inside Pas 

sage: Seeds, Books and Native Plant Services. 

Inside Passage offers seeds by weight: 1/4 oz., 1 oz., 4 oz. 

and 1 lb. and by single packets for gardeners at $2.50 each. 

Shipping is extra. They list 149 species including Allium 

acuminatum, A. cernum, Brodiaea coronaria, Camassia 

quamash, C. leitchlinii, Collinsia parviflora, Delphinium 

menziesii, Dodecatheon ssp., Eriophyllum lanatum, 

Erythronium oregonum, Fritillaria lanceolata, Heuchera 

micrantha, Lomatium utriculatum, Saanicle crassicaulis and 

Zygadenus venenosus. 

To order contact 1-800-361-9657 or write to P.O. Box 

639, Port Townsend, WA. 98368 

Calendar 

WILDFLOWER WALK — Sundays, June 15 and 

29,1-3 p.m. Mount Tolmie Park, Meet at the summit 

viewpoint. Call Eric for more information 595-7270. 

Sponsor: Mount Tolmie Conservancy Association. 

OPEN HOUSE "THE FUTURE OF 

COMPOSTING IN THE CRD" — Tuesday, June 

24, 4-8 p.m. Pacific Forestry Centre, 506 West 

Burnside Road. Public input is wanted for improve 

ment of large scale composting in the CRD. Phone 

James Pratt 920-7826 for info, on the Open House. 

GOMPS B.O.D. MEETING — Monday, July 7, 

7:30 p.m. at Sharron Waite's, 935 Woodhall Drive. 

Guest: Bill Turner, Land Conservancy of B.C. 

Garry oaks fall in Courtenay 

by Betty Brooks 

Black Creek, Vancouver Island 

Eight Garry oak trees have been felled on school dis 

trict property in order to allow space for expansion for an 

ice arena in the Comox Valley Sports Centre. Ironically, the 

trees were cut the same day, May 20, as members of the 

Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society and Native Plant 

Society of B.C. presented a brief to the School Board of 

District #71. The group was assured that the site would not 

be developed until well after that date. 

sive non-native species, they wish to leave it untouched. 

Vanier Secondary students will also be involved in studies 

and stewardship. 

It is unfortunate that Comox Valley has lost another 

piece of its ever eroding natural and cultural heritage. 

The brief contained information recently obtained from 

a Ministry of Environment botanist who had examined the 

site at the request of local naturalists. 

The site was found to be a unique plant community 

whose exact assemblage of plants is not found elsewhere, 

though somewhat similar communities exist in Washington 

State. A good regeneration of oak was also evident. The 

oak community was close to minimal size for survival. 

Now nearly one third of the woodland has either been 

destroyed or is destined for clearing. 

The Regional District Sports Commission, which makes 

decisions on the project, did not undertake to have an envi 

ronmental study done. Instead, an arborist was consulted 

and a second opinion obtained from another arborist in the 

same company. 

The arborist who supervised the cutting now recom 

mends clearing out the underbrush and dead wood, as well 

as draining, to make it more "park-like" for the public. Such 

action would totally destroy what is left of this unique plant 

community. 

Local naturalists hope to advise and help manage the 

remaining woodland. Apart from clearing out several inva- 

1 Garry Oak Leaflet ■— 

GOMPER BETTY BROOKS counts rings (est. 200 years) 

on felled Garry oak at Vanier Secondary School grounds 

Courtenay, B.C. May 25.

Update on Fama Garry oak meadow 

by Bob Thompson 

The battle to relocate the gravel ac 

cess road in the proposed Garry oak 

preserve on the Fama lands in Central 

Saanich, from its route through a Garry 

oak meadow to the park periphery, has 

been won. 

r 

v 

In fact, the new location of the road 

appears to be even better than the po 

sition originally proposed by Fama at 

the March 1995 Public Hearing. The 

revised position makes use of an exist 

ing road for part of its length, and while 

the road enters the park for a short dis 

tance, road construction in this area 

will be less damaging than if it went 

along the park periphery. 

GARRY 

OAK 

V 

pRE9ERVATIQN\AhEA'"(PA^K)\ 

■ 

Thanks to GOMPS for your crucial 

support. 

MAP AND photo courtesy of Bob Thompson. 

6 Garry Oak Leaflet-

In a nutshell, continued from page 1 

copies of our last two newsletters for 

her in my mailbox. Among her many 

questions was, did I think GOMPS had 

any effect with its advocacy? 

I have to admit, despite the efforts of 

all our directors, that I'm not sure. Our 

profile in the community is definitely 

there; obviously people are aware of 

usJudging from the phone calls we get, 

telling us of proposed developments or 

individual trees being cut down or ask 

ing us what to do. 

It's at the political level that I'm not 

sure. As Sharron Waite and I wrote in 

our letter to Environment Minister 

Cathy McGregor, "In 1993, your own 

ministry published a brochure on the 

Garry oak ecosystem calling it an eco 

system 'at risk' and describing it as 

being in 'extreme peril'. Four years 

later, nothing has changed; the ecosys 

tem is not protected, but even more 

habitat has been lost to development" 

On May 26,1 made a brief statement 

before Saanich Council (never my 

favorite thing to do) regarding a devel 

oper's request to amend restrictive cov 

enants on property at "Eden Oaks" on 

Westervelt Place, overlooking the 

Blenkinsop Valley. Alan Hopper, 

Saanich's municipal planner, had rec 

ommended that no amendment take 

place. 

However, until it wasn't until coun 

cillors realized that in fact, 1800-2000 

square foot houses could still be built 

with the covenants in place did they 

vote against the request. Several coun 

cillors obviously did not understand the 

intent of restrictive covenants; Sheila 

Orr, who vaguely mentioned the 

Hornby Island oaks, said she didn't see 

why grass couldn't be planted in the 

restricted area, or a patio. 

It is one thing to discuss conserva 

tion tools with like-minded people; it 

can be quite exciting thinking of the 

possibilities. It is quite another talking 

to a council where some councillors see 

land as a commodity only. 

So, one of our directors will check 

out the Mt. Douglas site, find out what 

provisions have been made to protect 

Garry oak habitat, and perhaps attend 

council, depending on what we find 

out. "Here we are again, folks. We were 

here three weeks ago and we'll be here 

again and again and again." 

Of course, we won't say that, but I 

do wonder iftalking to council or writ 

ing letters has any effect How does one 

judge? That's not to say we won't keep 

at it. 

One phone call a few weeks ago con 

cerned a particular Garry oak in 

Metchosin on public property. A prop 

erty owner had attached brass house 

numbers to the tree and that upset her 

neighbour who was not on speaking 

terms with her neighbour but called me. 

I said that as far as I knew, 

Metchosin did not have a tree protec 

tion bylaw and that if she wanted one 

in her community she and like-minded 

friends should lobby their council. I 

gave a similar message to a woman 

calling from Colwood several months 

ago. 

GOMPS can't lobby everywhere. 

Unlike higher profile environmental 

organizations like Western Canada 

Wilderness Committee or the Sierra 

Club, we do not have paid campaign 

ers. 

That could change, however. Not that 

we are about to employ anyone. On 

Saturday, May 31, the Provincial Capi 

tal Commission mid Capital Regional 

District Parks co-hosted a "Land Trusts 

and Land Stewardship Workshop" at 

tended by about 20 people from three 

levels of government and representa 

tives from local non-government 

groups: four directors from Habitat 

Acquisition Trust, two people from the 

Association to Preserve Rural 

Metchosin, two from Galiano Conserv 

ancy, one person each from the Land 

Conservancy of B.C., the conservation 

committee ofthe Victoria Natural His 

tory Society, Willie Macgillvray from 

Swan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature 

Sanctuary, me on behalf of GOMPS 

and a couple of other interested peo 

ple. 

Among the many suggestions ofhow 

PCC/CRD Parks could support exist 

ing groups was to pay for an office with 

a least one paid staff person. Two func 

tions might be to raise funds and to 

promote existing conservation initia 

tives, by talking to municipal council 

lors and municipal advisory commit 

tees and public displays in a travelling 

bus with all the stewardship booklet 

series. 

Even the mailperson gets in the act. 

One day in May, I arrived home just 

after my mail had been delivered. The 

woman wearing the uniform asked me 

ifI was in the Garry Oak Meadow Pres 

ervation Society and then told me about 

her concerns regarding the mowing 

practices at the Cridge Centre for the 

Family (Cook and Hillside Streets). 

I also got a phone call from a man 

concerned about the camas being 

mowed before it had time to bloom. I 

walked over the property when I had 

time, but could make no sense of the 

mowing. Obvious areas such as the 

rocky outcrops, where the mower could 

not reach, were left to grow, but the 

flatter areas were partially mown. 

Some camas was in bloom in those ar 

eas and mown in others. 

So I wrote a nice letter to the grounds 

people suggesting that they consider 

allowing the wildflowers to complete 

their natural cycle and then mow and 

accompanied the letter with our bro 

chure and Ministry of Environment 

leaflet on the Garry oak ecosystem. No 

reply yet. 

When I walked around the Cedar 

GolfCourse this week, I noticed a huge 

pile of soil piled in two locations in 

the Garry oak woodlands near the vol 

unteer house (closest street to the pile 

is Ocean View Road off Cedar Hill 

Road.) 

I contacted Don Hunter, Director 



In a nutshell continued from page 7 

of Saanich Parks and Recreation and 

he was most apologetic, saying he had 

just been notified of the pile and that 

the soil had been put there by the con 

tractor for the new golf house. 

He said that it was a mistake and that 

he had given an order for the soil's re 

moval. Mil any plant life besides the 

oaks survive? 

Eric Redekop, from the Mount 

Tolmie Conservancy, attended the 

same council meeting (May 26) that I 

did, protesting the proposed bike race 

on Mount Tolmie because of its effect 

on sensitive habitat. 

Although Saanich Council allowed 

the race organizer far longer than five 

minutes to do his presentation on the 

race, Eric was cut off before he could 

finish. The race was postponed due to 

another consideration: inadequate lead 

time. 

GOMPS Director Janet Simpson 

says the Juan de Fuca Rec. Centre has 

been inundated with calls protesting the 

disc-golf course in the Garry oak 

meadow at the Centre. 

She was asked by the recreation commissioners 

to make a presentation at 

their meeting on June 12. Dr. Adolf 

Ceska, from the Conservation Data 

Centre, will also be present with slides 

showing the ecosystem. 


ONGOING 









386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 


















Director '. , Janet Simpson 381-6657 


Friends of Summit (and GOMPS) 

members Karen Uldall-Ekman, 

Linda Grimm and Deirdre Gotto, got 

some good television coverage about 

the park and the Garry oak ecosystem 

when CHEK TV visited the park dur 

ing the Friends' April 27 public 

wildflower walk. 

In the next Oak Leaflet, I will bring 

GOMPS members up to date on issues 

we have been working on. 

NAME 

ADDRESS 


□ Donation 




□ Gift memberships, send receipt to: □ Garry Oak Inventory Project 



Q Garry Oak Leaflet


Newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society 5eptember 1997, Vol 1, Mo 8 

ROGERS FARM 


Since the last issue of the Leaflet, 

the GOMPS Board has been discuss 

ing the possibility of fund-raising to 

buy the portion of the oak woodlands 

that Saanich is not prepared to buy. 

To date: 

• Sharron, Pierre and Katie have met 

with Saanich municipal planner Alan 

Hopper. 

• Sharron and Katie have met with 

Saanich councillor David Cubberley. 

• A letter has been sent from the 

GOMPS Board to the Swan Lake/ 

Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary 

Board indicating our interest, followed 

by two conversations with Terry 

Morrison, the Sanctuary's Executive 

Director. 

•Katie and Sharron have met with Vic 

Derman of the North Quadra Ratepay 

ers Association and Bill Turner from 

The Land Conservancy of B.C. Vic 

indicated that NQRA would work with 

us on this project and Bill said he 

would negotiate on our behalfthrough 

The Land Conservancy. 

•A special meeting of the Board has 

been arranged for September 15 with 

fund-raiser Jane Heffelfinger for some 

tips on fund-raising (she raised $12 

million for the Hospital Foundation). 

•We have been loaned a fund-raising 

video from the Brainerd Foundation of 

Seattle and a tape from the U.S.-based 

Land Trust Alliance. 

•We have already received some do 

nations from GOMPS members and 

thank them very much for their support. 

Preliminary approach to 

Rogers family 

We discussed the issue at length at 

our September 4 board meeting and 

asked Bill Turner to approach Gordon 

English, the developer for the Rogers 

family, to see if the family might be 

interested in negotiating with us and to 

try and set a dollar figure for the six 

lots (Nos. 63-66,74 and 75) shown on 

a revised subdivision proposal prepared 

by Gordon (see map on page 2). 

If negotiations are favourable, the 

board will have to decide whether to 

proceed. Some directors have 

trepidations because there will be a lot 

of money to raise. Up to now we have 

not focussed on fund-raising and there 

are concerns that this could take a lot 

of our energy away from our other ac 

tivities. 

On the other hand, pursuing and suc 

ceeding at this endeavour would result 

in something tangible, positive and of 

long lasting benefit to succeeding gen 

erations. 

The Board feels it is critical that we 

have our members' support before pro 

ceeding. We need help, to put it bluntly. 

We need someone to spearhead this 

project and to devote the time neces 

sary. 

So dear members, is there anyone out 

there who would be interested in this 

project? Please come to a meeting 

we've planned for October 16 and let 

us know if you'd like to be involved or 

phone one of the directors! 

GOMPS members will have the op 

portunity to ask questions and to indi 

cate their level of support at this meet 

ing at 7:30 p.m. at the Swan Lake Na 

ture House. At this time Bill Turner 

will also explain the covenant on Re 

treat Island (see article on page 4). 

Public hearing 

Christmas Hill is a prominent re 

gional landmark, one which many peo 

ple are familiar with, which is one rea 

son one we think fund-raising could 

succeed. The public sentiment at the 

July 7 Saanich council meeting was to 


NOTE THESE 

DATES — YOUR 

PARTICIPATION 

IS URGENTLY 

NEEDED 

Rogers Farm P«»M 

Costco Public 

Hearing 

— Tuesday, October 7, 

7 p.m., Langford 

Fireball 

GOMPS Meeting — 

Thursday, October 16, 

7:30 p.m., Swan Lake 

Nature Sanctuary, 

Nature House 


I


add as much of the oak woodlands to 

the sanctuary as possible. 

The public hearing will be held September 

23, 7:30 p.m. at Saanich 

Municipal Hall. We're hoping that 

some ofyou will attend and let Saanich 

Council know how important it is that 

it protect as much ofthe oak woodlands 

as possible. 

Let's push for the whole amount that 

was designated in the Official Commu 

nity Plan — 3.2 ha! If Saanich can't 

buy that much, then how about the 

amount Councillor David Cubberley 

suggested at the July 7 council meet- the Capital Regional Districrs Re. We're a long way from that yet, but 

m£ a* gional Growth Strategy is valuing our Saanich and other councils need to hear 

Let's remind council that one of the natural environment and protecting and that message repeatedly! 

five core regional values promoted in preserving its sensitive ecosystems. 

COSTCO 


We've been trying to drum up some 

opposition to this project and have had 

some newspaper publicity but there has 

not been a lot of interest except from a 

handful of people. 

When Costco tried to locate in the 

Central Saanich area there was much 

heated public debate and Costco lost 

out. This time, they've found a munici 

pality which is favourable to them and 

they have had surprisingly little public 

opposition. 

On September 2, Langford resident 

Nitya Harris and GOMPS director Hal 

Gibbard and I met on site with devel 

opers Jack Nelson (for Costco) and 

Neil Godfrey (for Cressey). The archi 

tect and another person involved in the 

project were along as well. 

I was disappointed to see what they'd 

come up with. Only a portion of the 

area we were concerned about was 

mapped out. It covers 3/4 of an acre 

and is mostly in the proposed school/ 

housing zone. 

Mr. Godfrey said he was confident a 

covenant could be applied to the area. 

Costco will eliminate eight — yes, 

eight out of 724 — parking spaces to 

accommodate the area that falls within 

their property boundary. The rest ofthe 

Garry oak knoll we wanted to see pro 

tected will be parking lot under the 

current plan. 

We suggested rooftop / underground 

/ parkade possibilities for parking. Too 

expensive and too difficult, we were 

Ccstco Wholesale 

told, and not something Costco does. 

Apparently the same architectural firm 

is retained for all the Costco projects 

— there are 272 stores — and certain 

criteria have to be met, including mak 

ing it as easy as possible for shoppers 

with their shopping carts full of big 

boxes to get to their cars. 

Costco does plan, however, on plant 

ing Garry oaks in their landscaped area 

e Garry Oak Leaflet

and Mr. Nelson told us he understood 

we grew Garry oaks and could perhaps 

help out with supplying trees! 

At one point in the discussion I men 

tioned that trying to identify and pro 

tect sensitive areas after a development 

had been already mapped out was the 

wrong approach. The architect got testy 

with me when I talked about the Re 

gional Growth Strategy's goals which 

include municipalities having to iden 

tify their environmentally sensitive ar 

eas and the necessity of doing environ 

mental assessments on those areas prior 

to development. He said, "Langford 

doesn't require it." And he's right. 

A group of concerned people met at 

Nitya's on Sept. 9. Many useful ideas 

for a campaign were discussed, includ 

ing contacting small Langford retail 

ers to see ifthey would oppose the store 

because of its potential effects on busi 

ness. Unfortunately, with the public 

hearing only a few weeks away, we 

don't have the time but will be doing 

some phoning. 

In the July 21 staff report, there is 

mention of a proposed 1.7 ha (4.24 

acre) amenity/school site, which com 

prises 5.1% of the entire site. 

Another 

five per cent, including the 3/4-acre 

Garry oak area mapped out, is sup 

posed to be set aside for public park 

land, although the applicant wants the 

parkland to be private. 

According to a September 12 con 

versation Nitya had with planner Rob 

Buchan, another Gany oak meadow is 

supposed to be included elsewhere in 

the housing development, at the rec 

ommendation of Dr. Adolf Ceska. I 

haven't been able to confirm this yet. 

Nonetheless, even if this is true, we 

are still concerned with the Costco site 

and the amount of habitat that will be 

destroyed by its construction. 

Public Hearing 

The Public Hearing is set for Tues 

day, October 7, at 7:00 p.m. at the 

Langford Fire Hall, 2775 Millstream 

Road. We hope that some of you will 

be able to attend and speak. 

THE DIAGRAM (top) shows the location of the 3/4-acre Garry oak meadow in 

the overall 84-acre Costco/housing development and at the lower left of the 

diagram of the Costco development (left). We would like to see the parking area 

to the right of the 3/4-acre area preserved at least as far as and including the 

sixth row of parking. 

Acorn alert 

It's time to collect acorns again. This year it looks like there will be more 

than last year so we hope to make up for a lost year when no collecting or plant 

ing was done. 

Look for plump acorns that appear to be free of infestation. A tiny hole or 

scar or clumps of brown granules indicate the presence of the filbertworm and 

filbert weevil. If you can, fill a sink with water. Discard the floaters, as they are 

infested. Dry the acorns and refrigerate them to keep them fresh and viable for 

planting. Take your acorns as soon as possible after collection to the Pacific 

Forestry Centre Greenhouse at 506 West Burnside Road. Rob Hagel is the tech 

nician there who is in charge of the acorn planting program. 

We also need your help planting later this fall. It's an easy task and will only 

take a couple of hours of your time at the Pacific Forestry Centre. 


South Winchelsea Island 

On August 25 TLC made its $4900 

option payment on South Winchelsea 

Island, with help from the Quadra Is 

land Conservancy and Stewardship 

Society, the Nanaimo Land Trust and 

several TLC members. 

As requested in the last Leaflet, 

GOMPS members, TLC needs letters 

sent in support. Besides the addresses 

given last month, letters can be sent to 

Honourable Sheila Copps, MP, 

Minister of Canadian Heritage, 

Terrace de la Chaudiere, 

Jules Leger Bldg., 12th Floor, 

Hull, PQ, KlA 0M5 

and to 

Honourable David Anderson, 

MP, 

Minister of Fisheries and 

Oceans, 

Centennial Towers, 

2000 Kent St., Suite 1750, 

Ottawa,ON,KlA0E6. 

Join TLC 

TLC hopes to have a membership of 

3,000 by the year 2000. The organiza 

tion, which is based locally, also is 

looking for volunteers: librarian, office 

filing, volunteer coordinator, mall dis 

plays, computer record management 

and a variety of other tasks, such as 

field work. 

The current board consists of Don 

Benn, environmental consultant; Vic 

Derman, teacher; Michael Kennedy, 

teacher (Lillooet); Misty MacDuffee, 

environmental consultant; Bob Peart, 

civil servant; Briony Penn, UVic pro 

fessor, environnmental studies (Salt 

Spring Island); Joe Simpson, lawyer 

(Duncan); Bill Turner, environmental 

consultant and Karen Wristen, lawyer 

(Vancouver). Unless otherwise noted, 

they are from Victoria. 

Please consider joining this worth 

while organization and supporting the 

important work it is doing. For more 

information contact Bill Turner, 5793 

Old West Saanich Road, Victoria, 

B.C. V8X 3X3. Phone: (250) 361- 

7693, fax: (250) 744-2251. 

A REQUEST FROM THE 

PRESIDENT 


ing nights 

□ native plant rescuers 

As you will read in the various arti 

cles in this Leaflet, we need volunteers. 

Your membership, of course, supports 

the society and without all of you we 

could not exist. However, we can do a 

lot more than we're already doing if 

you could give some of your time as 

well. 

The Board hesitates to commit itself 

to new responsibilities because we are 

already very involved in what is al 

ready going on. 

Our work on land development is 

sues as they come up takes up a lot of 

our time and we feel it is essential that 

we keep advocating for habitat protec 

tion, even if we don't see a lot in the 

way of results. 

Our appeals through the newsletter 

do not usually result in anyone volun 

teering but we keep on asking. 

We need: 

Q a volunteer coordinator 

□ a phone tree coordinator 

□ a coordinator for 

the annual acorn 

collection/planting project — taking 

phone calls, explaining collection pro 

cedures, telling people where to take 

acorns, lining up volunteers for plant 

□ acorn collectors and planters 

Q inventory volunteers to count Garry 

oaks and match them to maps and a 

data inputter for the inventory 

□ broom bashers 

□ people willing to speak out at pub 

lic hearings/council meetings 

Q letter writers 

Courses of interest 

□ someone to develop a Web site for 

our society. 

We will soon need: 

□ conservation covenant monitors 

□ fund-raisers 

Something we haven't discussed at 

the Board level is contacting landown 

ers regarding stewardship of their land. 

Again, volunteers would be necessary. 

The Field-Naturalist is offering several Natural History courses this fall, 

including one on gardening with native plants. Staffittember Canina Maslovat, 

co-owner of Woodland Native Plant Nursery, will conduct three Saturday ses 

sions from 10 a.m.- 4p.m. on September 13, 20 and 27. Cost for all three ses 

sions is $75 plus GST. 

For more information contact the store at 1126 Blanshard Street, Victoria, 

388-4174. 

□ 

The UVIC Division of Continuing Studies and School of Environmental 

Studies are offering a Diploma and Certificate Program in Restoration of Natural 

Systems. Ruth McDougall, Program Coordinator asked GOMPS to mention 

one course in particular in the Leaflet, which has just started: Urban Restoration 

and Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Tuesday evenings, September 9 to De 

cember 2. 

Urban restoration topics include green space and greeways, maintenance 

and restoration of native species, protection and restoration of urban streams 

and wetlands and parks for nature versus recreatioon. Call Ruth at 472-4568. 


Retreat Island conservation covenant 


Bill Turner has been our guest at the 

last two Board meetings. One of the 

things we discussed in detail with him 

is a conservation covenant on part of 

Retreat Island, located off Galiano Is 

land. 

The owners of the island, GOMPS 

members Jillian and Robin Ridington, 

plan to donate four acres of the 7-acre 

island as a nature preserve to the 

Galiano Conservancy and to place cov 

enants on that part. 

The Ridingtons would like the Garry 

Oak Meadow Preservation Society and 

the Trust Fund Board of Islands Trust 

to be co-covantees. 

Bill Turner will be at the October 

16 GOMPS meeting at Swan Lake 

Nature House to fill you in on the de 

tails of the covenant and what it en 

tails for GOMPS. One of our major re 

sponsibilities will be monitoring the 

land after is has been assessed. 

This is an exciting venture for the 

society and one GOMPS members can 

be involved with if they'd like to be 

monitors. We hope some of you will 

volunteer — it's not arduous like 

broom bashing! 

Monitoring workshop 

Last autumn Bill hosted a workshop 

on monitoring conservation covenants 

at Camosun College. As a followup to 

that workshop, Jan Garnett, Land 

Securement Officer of Nature Con 

servancy Canada, has arranged a field 

session for volunteers who might be 

interested in monitoring conservation 

covenants. They will learn about field 

techniques and record-keeping. Any 

one can attend, whether or not they at 

tended the previous workshop. 

Conducting the session will be Helen 

Reid, a biologist with Madrone Con 

sulting, who is experienced with envi 

ronmental mapping. She is currently 

doing an ecosystem mapping of 

Clayoquot Sound. 

Date: Saturday, September 27 

Time: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Place: Lot 14, corner of Hazlitt 

Creek and Old Mossy, Highlands. 

Jan says this property contains a "nice 

The Land Conservancy of B.C. 


In the current and last month's is 

sues ofthe Leaflet there are references 

to the Land Conservancy of British 

Columbia and I thought I'd give you 

some background on it. 

According to their brochure: "The 

Land Conservancy of British Colum 

bia has been formed by a number of 

concerned British Columbians. TLC 

provides B.C. residents with an oppor 

tunity to help protect biodiversity in 

British Columbia, across Canada and 

internationally throught the purchase 

of vital natural areas. 

"TLC is a membership organization. 

Members have the opportunity to take 

part in the activities of TLC to the 

degree that they wish. The member 

ship will democratically elect their 

board of directors." 

mixture of wetland, rocky outcrops 

and treed areas and includes a good 

variety of habitats." 

If you're interested in attending this 

session, please contact me at 386-4792 

and I'll forward your name to Jan. 

"The Mission: The Land Conserv 

ancy of British Columbia protects 

plants, animals, natural communities 

and landscape features that represent 

diversity of life on Earth, by protect 

ing the lands and waters they need to 

survive, and protects areas of scientific, 

historical, cultural, scenic or compat 

ible recreation values." 

As of May 1,1997 the Conservancy 

became a society and has applied for 

charitable status from Revenue 

Canada. 

To date TLC has provided financial 

and technical support to several organi 

zations for their ongoing projects and 

is actively involved in negotiating a 

number of conservation covenants 

throughout the province as well as ne 

gotiating for the purchase of South 

Winchelsea Island. 


Data inputter needed 

The City of Victoria section of the 

GOMPS Garry oak inventory has been 

completed and the Saanich segment is 

well underway. The information on the 

maps needs to be transferred to a data 

base on a computer. If you think you 

could help out, please call inventory 

coordinator Paul Gareau at 592-9089. 


ONGOING 








Publications of interest 

English Ivy Information Brochure: 

The Saanich Parks and Recreation 

Department published this brochure in 

May, 1997 with input from GOMPS 

directors Hal Gibbard and Pierre 

d'Estrube. Obtainable at Saanich Mu 

nicipal Hall, 770 Vernon Avenue. 

Jumping Gall Wasp, Forest Pest 

Leaflet #80 and Oak LeafPhylloxera, 

Forest Pest Leaflet #81, both by R. W. 

Duncan, Pacific Forestry Centre. 

These leaflets explain background, 

hosts, distribution, life history and hab 

its, descriptions, management options 

and are amply illustrated in full col 

our. Obtain from Pacific Forestry Cen 

tre, 506 West Bumside, Victoria, B.C. 

V8Z1M5. (250) 363-0600. 

Trees and Shrubs ofBritish Colum 

bia, written and illustrated by T. 

Christopher Brayshaw, $24.95, A 

Royal Britsh Columbia Museum Hand 

book co-published with UBC Press. 

CALENDAR 

NATIVE PLANT STUDY 

GROUP — Thursday, Septem 

ber 18,7 p.m. Room C118 Busi 

ness and Economics Classroom 

Building (a.k.a. 1996 Classroom 

Building), UVIC. Featured 

speaker: Andy McKinnon, co-edi 

tor Plants ofCoastal British Co 

lumbia. 

AYUM CREEK BROOM 

BASH — Sunday, September 

28,11 a.m.-4 p.m. Meet at Hwy. 

14 bridge on the Sooke Highway, 

just past Shell gas station. 


386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 





c/o A-954 QUEENS AVENUE, VICTORIA, B.C. V8T1M6 





Vice-President Pierre d'EstruM 477-2410 




Director and Program Chair : Paul Gareau 592-9089 





NAME 

ADDRESS 



Q Individual $15 □ Family $20 

□ Donation 








Please write today 

Thank Minister Petter and his government for taking a leadership role in creating a sea to 

sea park in the Sooke Hills by protecting the GVWD non-catchment lands. 

Urge Minister Petter to move quickly to designate all Crown lands in Ayum and Charters 

Valleys identified in the Wilderness Committee's proposal for completion of the sea-to-sea 

greenbelt. 

Urge Minister Petter to use funds available in the $60 million Pacific Marine Legacy Fund 

to purchase private lands in Ayum and Charters critical to completing the sea-to-sea 

greenbelt. 

Write to: The Honourable Andrew Petter, Minister of Finance, 

Legislative Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4 

Also write to the new Federal Fisheries Minister David Anderson 

Ask Minister Anderson to work with Andrew Petter, in the spirit of the new federalprovincial 

fisheries agreement, to protect the salmon bearing Ayum and Charters rivers. 

Write to: 

The Honourable David Anderson, Minister of Fisheries 

House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 

Letters to the Times Colonist on this issue will also have impact on decision makers: 

Times Colonist, P.O. Box 300, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2N4 

Thank you for helping to protect Vancouver Island's native species and their habitat.

SOOKE HILLS ACTION ALERT 

HELP US COMPLETE PROTECTION FOR THE SPOKE HILLS 

For the past two years the Western Canada Wilderness Committee has led a campaign to 

protect the Sooke Hills through creation of a sea to sea greenbelt park linking existing 

parks from Saanich Inlet to Juan de Fuca Strait. 

Over 1000 letters made the difference! 

Overwhelming public support for this vision resulted in over 1000 letters to politicians. 

On January 28th, as a direct result of these letters, the provincial government took a crucial 

step in protecting the Sooke Hills by announcing park protection for the GVWD noncatchment 

lands. This protected 3 of the 5 river valleys in the Sooke Hills Greenbelt 

Proposal. Completing protection for the greenbelt now requires only the addition of 

Ayum and Charters valleys. These two watersheds link the GVWD lands with Sooke 

Mountain Park and extend protection all the way to Sooke Basin. 

Because so much of the land in these valleys is already publicly owned crown land their 

protection significantly depends on further action by the provincial government. The 

crown land parcels in Ayum and Charters Valleys must be added to the new Sooke Hills 

Park. 

Your letter is urgently needed now! (see reverse to find out how you can help)

IARRY OAK LEAFLET 

newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society October 1997, Vol. 1, Mo. 9 

COSTCO 

Report on the Costco Public Hearing in 

Langford 


Those of us who were at the 

Langford Firehall on Tuesday, Octo 

ber 7, were witness to quite a specta 

cle. 

The four-hour long meeting chaired 

by Mayor Stew Young was a perfect 

demonstration of how not to run a 

democratic assembly. Although the 

presence of a parking attendant at least 

30 minutes before the meeting indi 

cated that a very large crowd had been 

expected, the meeting was held in such 

a small hall that many people were pre- 


PRE-BROOM UPLANDS PARK. This photo by C.F. Newcombe was taken in 1892 and was copied from the book Flora of 

the Saanich Peninsula by Adam F. Szczawinski and Antony S. Harrison, published by the Royal B.C. Provincial Musuem, 

in 1973. A search to locate this photo in the Provincial Archives was unsuccessful. 


I

COSTCO continued from page 1 

vented from entering this "public" 

meeting and were expected to wait for 

hours until those inside had left. 

A Costco director and the developer 

were invited to repeat their 30-minute 

presentation, giving them an unfair 

advantage in being able to rebutt what 

two hours of speakers had said. 

Hecklers were permitted to shout at 

speakers from the Capital Regional 

District who were concerned about the 

effect this development would have on 

the region, and loudly ridicule any 

speaker who commented on environ 

mental or global concerns. 

In such a hostile situation, it was dif 

ficult to be heard; however, it was my 

impression that over two dozen speak 

ers made direct reference to the neces 

sity of saving the Garry oak ecosystem 

doomed by the developer's plans to 

becoming a concrete parking lot. 

I was asked during a CFAX interview 

if I was afraid the issue of preserva 

tion of the oak habitat would get over 

shadowed by the pro/anti Costco de 

bate — well, that certainly didn't hap 

pen at the public hearing. 

During the meeting, it became in 

creasingly evident that the developer 

saw GOMPS as a serious threat. In fact, 

the repeat performance of the proposal 

was primarily directed to the points we 

had raised. 

GOMPS had a very short time in 

which to publicize the peril of the eco 

system on the Costco site. 

We managed two radio interviews, 

letters to the editor printed in the Times 

Colonist, Monday Magazine and 

Goldstream News Gazette, an editorial 

in Monday Magazine, front page arti 

cles and editorials in the Goldstream 

News Gazette, an item in the Times 

Colonist, two articles in Econews, an 

on-site interview with CHEK-TV, and 

countless discussions and phone calls 

with residents and business people. 

Yes, Langford's council voted unani 

mously in favour of the rezoning, but 

that just moved the battle into the De 

velopment Permit stage. We need to 

focus on our successes: we brought the 

oak ecosystem into the spotlight, we 

gave developers a sense of the trouble 

we could create, and we inspired many 

people to speak on behalf of our cause. 



The Rogers Farm and Costco public 

hearings are over, thank goodness, but 

there will certainly be others coming 

up — Helen Road and the Hutchison 

property are probably the next two but 

you can be sure they won't be the last. 

The outcome of both hearings was 

predictable. 

I recently spent a week in Toronto 

and came back the day before the 

Rogers Farm public hearing. I started 

out my short statement by saying this: 

"Yesterday I arrived back in Victo 

ria from a week in the Toronto area 

visiting a very sick in-law. As any of 

you who have visited that part of On 

tario will know, you have to look hard 

and go many miles to search out any 

small locations of native habitat. 

"Some that exist are the result ofgen 

erosity of far-seeing donors, such as the 

399 acres of High Park in the City of 

Toronto, which is a mix of grassy ar 

eas and natural areas which have been 

degraded and where an extensive pro 

gram is underway to regenerate those 

natural areas. 

"We met people trying to bring back 

a paved-over creek. We saw signs on 

farms seeking rezoning for 500+ 

houses. We drove past acres and acres 

ofnew cars parked across the road from 

the GM plant in Oshawa to get to a tiny 

patch named Thickson Woods on the 

shore of Lake Ontario, a so-called old 

growth forest which in fact was not. 

"While I was there, I picked up an 

environmental map for the regional 

municipality of Durham area showing 

its sensitive areas and outlining propos 

als of how to accommodate the pro 

jected 61 per cent increase in popula 

tion by 2021 and save sensitive habi 

tat, too. 

"We are facing those same chal 

lenges here — accommodating devel 

opment and saving sensitive habitat. 

"This week away made me realize 

that the lobbying that our organization 

does is important and that all ofus who 

live here, despite fiscal restraint, still 

have a chance to save some of our pre 

cious natural and endangered Garry 

oak habitat for future generations be 

fore it is all developed." 

□ 

The regeneration program in High 

Park looks interesting. The ecosystem 

being restored is called oak savannah 

and the Ontario Ministry ofNatural Re 

sources has identified 27 percent ofthe 

park's natural environment as signifi 

cant oak woodlands. 

This ecosystem occupies less than 

0.1 percent of the Southern Ontario 

landscape, according to a handout on 

the park's savannah. 

I contacted the person whose name 

was listed on display boards in the vari 

ous test areas and she sent me material 

on the High Park program. Two test 

plots totally 0.376 ha were burned by 

ministiy staff in Spring 1977 and more 

are planned. 

I will pass on information I receive 

to two local groups who are interested 

in doing burns in protected Garry oak 

habitat. 

Q 


f Garry Oak Leaflet

ROGERS FARM 

Report on Rogers Farm Public Hearing 


Nothing unpredictable occurred at 

the October 7 public hearing for Rogers 

Farm. Saanich did not offer to buy all 

the oak woodlands. 

Council gave third reading to the D3 

option proposed by developer Gordon 

English on behalf of the Rogers fam 

ily. This means Saanich will buy 1.42 

ha of the oak woodlands to add to the 

Christmas Hill part of the nature sanc 

tuary. 

Councillor Judy Brownoff, seconded 

by Carol Pickup, proposed adding con 

servation covenants to the six lots ad 

joining the nature sanctuary but no 

other councillor would support that. 

Sheila Orr said the owners could "grow 

an ecosystem" as did Gordon English 

speaking about the family's opposition 

to these covenants. They did agree, 

however, to no-build zones and tree 

preservation covenants. 

The choice of a connecting trail or 

greenways still has to be resolved be 

fore fourth reading. The family and 

Rogers School are not in agreement 

with the proposed trail along the 

school, citing safety concerns. 

Rogers School teacher Yves Parizeau 

led off the public speakers, speaking 

in support of saving the oak woodlands 

and mentioning the school's willing 

ness to be involved with our society in 

fund-raising. A number of children also 

read prepared statements saying how 

much they valued the open fields and 

woods of the farm. 

Representatives from the Sanctuary 

Board said they preferred option D2 as 

it saved more of the oaks. 

Councillor Pickup once again said a 

parks referendum was needed and that 

it had been seven years since the last 

one. She told me after the meeting that 

had there been a parks referendum we 

wouldn't have to buy the rest of the 

woodlands. 

□ 

Bill Turner talked with Gordon Eng 

lish this week regarding GOMPS' pro 

posal to buy the rest of the woodlands. 

The family is waiting until fourth read 

ing before deciding. 

Notes continued from page 2 

□ 

The Rogers Farm public hearing 

ended up being held on the same night 

at the Costco public hearing. It was 

much more civilized than the one in 

Langford. No heckling and hostility, no 

allowing the developer to do a second 

presentation putting down his opposi 

tion, no asking which municipality 

speakers lived in and no mayor ques 

tioning GOMPS' credibility. 

The public hearings being on the 

same night created a problem for me. 

Sharron was away and the other four 

directors had commitments elsewhere, 

so that meant I couldn't go with Janet 

to Langford. 

On September 28 I went with two 

other people to streets near the Costco 

development to distribute leaflets. 

There were no mailboxes at the houses, 

but we managed to get some beneath 

mats, etc. 

On the way back into Victoria we 

stopped at the grand opening to the 

Galloping Goose. I found Rick Kasper 

and asked him about the lack of envi 

ronmental assessment on Costco's site. 

He was quite dismissive of me, walk 

ing away and giving an emphasized 

thumbs up and telling me the majority 

of his constituents wanted it. 

I located Andrew Petter and talked 

to him about the government's lack of 

protection of the Garry oak ecosystem, 

in particular the Costco site. He said 

he wasn't up to snuff— odd, consid 

ering he is minister responsible for the 

Provincial Capital Commission which 

is supposed to be concerned about the 

green approaches to Victoria — and 

then said it was a municipal matter and 

there was nothing the government 

could do. 

I said to Him that there was lots the 

government could do if it chose to, such 

as declaring a moratorium on develop 

ment of environmentally sensitive 

lands until science-based conservation 

guidelines were in place. 

There is a precedent for this in South 

ern California, the Natural Commu 

nity Conservation Planning program. 

Mr. Petter grimaced and indicated that 

would never fly here. Why not? If the 

political will and public pressure were 

there we might finally get some sup 

port from this government. 

□ 

At the GOMPS meeting held Octo 

ber 16, five members attended besides 

the Board. 

Bill Turner explained the conserva 

tion covenant on Retreat Island and 

a motion was passed to proceed with 

the covenant. As this is our first cov 

enant, we are pleased to be doing it 

with a more experienced partner, the 

Islands Trust Fund Board of Islands 

Trust. 

□ 

Jana Kotaska, an instructor teach 

ing a course on Urban Restoration 

and Sustainable Agriculture at 

UVIC, asked me to speak about 

GOMPS at the October 14 class. Be 

fore I started my talk, I played the video 

on the Garry oak ecosystem that stu 

dents of Cedar Hill teacher Vic Derman 

had made. It was well received and 

served as a good introduction. 


Third Annual City-Wide Broom Bash Schedule 

by coordinator Eric Redekop 

Sat., Oct. 11 

Sun., Oct. 12 

Mon.,Oct. 13 

Sat., Oct. 18 

Sun., Oct. 19 

Sat., Oct. 25 

Sun., Oct. 26 

Sun., Nov. 1 

Sun., Nov. 2 

Sat., Nov. 8 

Sun., Nov. 9 

Mon., Nov. 10 

Sat., Nov. 15 

Sun., Nov. 16 

Sat., Nov. 22 

Sun., Nov. 23 

Sat., Nov. 29 

Sun., Nov. 30 

9 a.m.-noon 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

1-4 p.m. 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

1-4 p.m. 

9 a.m.-noon 

10 a.m.-noon 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

9a.m.-3 p.m. 

9 a.m.-noon 

9 a.m-3 p.m. 

9 a.m.-noon 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

9a.m.-3 p.m. 

10a.m.-1 p.m. 

9 a.m.-noon 

9:30a.m.-12:30 p.m. 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

1-4 p.m. 

9 a.m.-noon 

9 a.m-3 p.m. 

9 a.m.-noon 

9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

Horticulture of the Pacific 

505 Quayle Road 

Information: Paul Gareau, 592-9089 

Mount Tolmie Park 

Information: Eric Redekop, 585-7270 



Cattle Point 

Information: Margaret Lidkea, 595-8084 


Information: Eric Redelop, 595-7270 

Cattle Point 

Information: Margaret Lidkea, 595-8084 

Mount Douglas Park 

Information: Ken Rankin, 477-8007 

Government House 

Information: Fran Spencer, 370-2541 

Knockan Hill 

Information: Andria Tetlow, 479-1947 



Central Saanich (location TBA) 

Information: Bob Thompson, 652-4691 





View Royal Park 

Information: Andria Tetlow, 479-1947 



Wildflower Lane 

Information: Linda Beare, 658-8993 

Highrock/Cairn Park 

Information: Ron Steele, 386-7886 

Thetis Lake Park 

Information: Elizabeth McMillan, 479-7694 



Christmas Hill 

Information: Swan Lake Nature Centre, 479-0211 





Blue Heron Park (Sidney) 

Information: Pat Bastone, 656-6594 




Lost butterflies of Vancouver Island 

by Syd Cannings, Zoologist 

Editor's note: This article is reprinted 

from the December 1996 British Co 

lumbia Conservation Data Centre 

Newsletter with permission from the 

centre. 

In the last year, the zoology program 

has delved into the invertebrate world, 

beginning with a survey of rare butter 

flies on southeastern Vancouver Island. 

Much of our knowledge of the distri 

bution of rare butterflies is de 

rived from specimens collected 

over 50 years ago. 

Times and habitats have 

changed drastically in the in 

terim, and we need up-to-date 

information to determine the 

real status of these species and 

to manage for their survival. 

The Vancouver Island subspecies of 

Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia 

insulana), a grass-feeding caterpillar 

with an historically wide range, now 

has confirmed colonies at only seven 

sites, including Trial Islands Ecologi 

cal Reserve, Uplands Park, and the Oak 

Bay Island Ecological Reserve. 

Jon located only three sites for Moss' 

Elfin (Incisalia mossii), a small, darkbrown 

butterfly. However, this species 

flies early in the year (late March and 

cies isn't of conservation concern. Only 

seven thriving populations were found. 

This is a skipper of Garry oak mead 

ows. The larvae may require young 

Garry oak leaves to reach maturity, and 

the adults utilize a number of 

wildflowers for their nectar needs, in 

cluding camas, vetch, Hooker's onion, 

and wooly eriophyllum. 

Two of the undetected four — the 

Chalcedon Checkerspot (Euphydryas 

chalcedona perdiccas) and the Large 

Marble (Euchloe ausonides, 

undescribed subspecies) — have not 

been seen for many decades and may 

have vanished from the island. 

Since the subspecies of the Large 

Marble was restricted to Vancouver 

Island and the adjacent Gulf Islands, it 

may be in fact extinct. 

Lepidoptera specialist Jon 

Shepard was contracted to 

study 11 species of rare butterflies. De 

spite visiting 59 sites several times dur 

ing butterfly season, Jon found only 

seven of the species for which he was 

searching. 

Edith's Checker-spot (Euphydryas 

editha taylori) has vanished from Or 

egon and is known from only three sites 

in the Puget Sound region of Washing 

ton. 

John relocated a thriving population 

at Helliwell Park on Hornby Island and 

a smaller, secondary one nearby. Four 

occurrences of the Zerene Frilillary 

(Speyeria zerene bremneri) were 

found. The only large, healthy popula 

tion observed was on southern 

Saltspring Island, where Jon estimated 

a total number of 300 individuals liv 

ing in adjacent meadows. 

The Icarioides Blue (Icaricia 

icarioides blackmorei) was not found 

at any of the historic, lower elevation 

sites, but was found on lupines near the 

summit of Mount Brenton, and in two 

logged areas in the Mount Arrowsmith 

region. 

early April), and the survey period 

probably missed the main flight sea 

son. 

Propertius Dusky Wings (Erynnis 

propertius) were seen at 32 sites. How 

ever, this does not mean that this spe 

WILD 

The Dun Skipper (Euphyes vestris 

metacomet) and the Greenish Blue 

(Plebejus saepiolus insulanus) have 

not been seen for 10 and 30 years re 

spectively, although it is possible they 

still occur on the island. All four of 

these butterflies should be looked for 

in future years. 

MUSHROOM SHOW 

Discover the hundreds of kinds of mushrooms found in 

Vancouver Island's forests, gardens and fields! 

Sunday. October 26,1997 

10a.m.-4p.m. 

Swan Lake-Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary 

3673 Swan Lake Road 

479-0211 

Free — donations appreciated 

Members of the South Vancouver Island Mycological Society 

will be on hand to answer questions. 

Sales of books, gifts and baked goods! 


Update on the Garry 

oak meadow at Juan 

de Fuca Rec Centre 


According to Janelle Kent, Admin 

istrative Assistant at the Juan de Fuca 

Recreation Centre in Colwood, we can 

be assured that the frisbee golfers who 

set up an 18-post disc golf course over 

a Garry oak meadow there will be mov 

ing from the site immediately. 

After many letters and phone calls, 

a GOMPS submission to the Rec Cen 

tre commissioners, the support and dip 

lomatic efforts of Janelle and Rick 

Hanak (the Facilities Manager), and 

our willingness to work toward setting 

up a form of stewardship to rid the 

meadow of invasive species, the de 

signer of the course has agreed to move 

it to a more appropriate location. It took 

six months of unrelenting effort, but 

this small victory is something that we 

can use to keep our hopes up. 

Broom bashes up 

in 1997 

Eric Redekop, coordinator for the 

City-Wide Broom Bash, tallied the sta 

tistics of the first three years of broom 

bashes. 

In 1995 there were 12 events in eight 

locations over four weekends; in 1996 

there were 20 events in 13 locations 

over six weekends and this year there 

are 25 events in 14 locations over eight 

weekends. 

CALENDAR 

SIERRA CLUB FALL HAR 

VEST ANNUAL BANQUET 

— Sat, Oct. 25, 6 to 11 p.m., 

Laurel Point Inn. This is a fundraising 

even; there will be a si 

lent auction, auction and door 

prizes. Advance tickets available 

until Oct. 22 at the Sierra Club 

office, 1525 Amelia Street, Vic 

toria. Cost $45. 


ONGOING 









386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 

















e-mail ua620@freenet.victoria.bc.ca 


NAME 

ADDRESS 



□Donation 

□ Individual $15 □ Family $20 Please send more information about: 

□ Youth and Associate $6 (no newsletter) □ Local sources for Gany oak meadow plants 







newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society November 1997, Vol. 1, Mo IO 

FAMA Garry oak meadow park management 


Central Saanich now owns the 25- 

acre Garry oak meadow area which 

formerly belonged to FAMA Holdings 

Ltd. Last year there was considerable 

public opposition to a proposed road 

through the middle of it necessary to 

connect two reservoirs. That issue was 

resolved successfully and the route 

changed to the periphery of the park.. 

A long-term management plan is 

now being developed for the park and 

GOMPS was invited to a Environmen 

tal Advisory meeting on October 22 to 

give suggestions. 

GOMPS members Eric Redekop, 

who has done considerable restoration 

work on Mount Tolmie; Willie 

MacGillivray, site manager for the 

Swan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature 

Sanctuary; and Dr. David Boag, a Cen 

tral Saanich resident and biologist who 

first alerted us to the proposed road, 

also attended and gave input. 

Jan Garnett, a director of Habitat 

Acquisition Trust Fund, talked about 

the proposed conservation covenant for 

the park, which she suggested could be 

co-held by GOMPS. 

Dr. Richard Hebda gave the commit 

tee suggestions prior to the meeting, 

which he couldn't attend. 

We discussed doing an ecological 

survey, limiting public access and ac 

tivities, establishing/removing trails 

after the ecological survey is com 

pleted, restoration and maintenance of 

the natural areas within the park, spe 

cial consideration of areas during con 

struction (roads), local stewardship ini 

tiatives, encroachment by adjacent land 

owners and signage. 

Obviously, Central Saanich is con 

cerned about the protection of the eco 

system as the foremost priority for the 

preserve. Developing a good manage 

ment plan is essential. 

I really appreciated the opportunity 

to give some input. As Eric said on the 

way back from the meeting, it was "re 

freshing." 

A few days following the meeting, 

Bonnie Mackenzie, Central Saanich's 

director of Parks and Recreation, 

phoned me regarding putting a pack 

age together to give to landowners liv 

ing beside the park. That has been 

done. I also suggested the owners who 

have Garry oak meadows on their prop 

erty be approached regarding attach 

ing conservation covenants to their 

property. 



I was told by several people attend 

ing the October 7 Costco public hear 

ing that developer Jack Nelson accused 

our society of wanting more and more 

habitat preserved. 

While our view was and still is, that 

the Millstream Road site is the wrong 

location for Costco because it is endan 

gered habitat, it was difficult for us, not 

being surveyors, to estimate in either 

acres or hectares, the size of an area 

that we hoped to see preserved. It is, 

however, definitely larger than the 

3/4-acre that is supposed to be 

preserved. 

GOMPS Director Janet Simpson 

brought along a letter from Dr. Rich 

ard Hebda which was read aloud. In it 

he recommended that a much larger 

amount of habitat be set aside than we 

had originally suggested to ensure its 

survival. 

As a follow-up to (he hearing, I wrote 

a letter to Mayor Stew Young, with 

copies to developer Jack Nelson and 

the GoldstreamNews Gazette, enclos 

ing portions of two issues of our Leaf 

let which indicated the area of the de 

velopment we hoped to see set aside. I 

didn't appreciate GOMPS being ma 

ligned. 

The letter was returned from the 

Langford planning secretary saying 

Council couldn't receive my letter 

since it was received after the public 

hearing. This is quite undemocratic, as 

part of my letter criticized how that 

public hearing was conducted. 

Reflecting on this battle, we were in 



I

Who has a vision for the CRD? 

The Regional Growth Strategy is 

supposed to be completed prior to the 

next municipal election. However, sup 

port from our elected representatives 

on the various councils seems to be 

very low and the public is confused. 

In the summer the RGS released a 

document called "Setting the Base 

Case: The OCP Option." 

It is derived from the adopted Offi 

cial Community Plans of the Capital 

Region and is supposed to identify "is 

sues and impacts which will have to 

be addressed in the RGS". The bulky 

document also included a questionnaire 

which has only been sent in by a very 

small number of people. 

Concern about the lack of adequate 

public response prompted a meeting on 

November 4, convened by Misty 

Macduffee on behalf of Michael 

M'Gonigle, the Ecochair at the UVic 

Faculty of Law. 

Former Victoria councillor Alistair 

Craighead talked about the flawed 

transportation study done previously 

which tried to look at transportation 

alone without taking into consideration 

land use; Bob McMinn, Mayor of the 

Highlands, spoke about preserving land 

in exchange for density and a commu 

nity representative from North Saanich 

described the workshop in her commu 

nity where the OCP Option and ques 

tionnaire was discussed. She said that 

the questionnaire was badly flawed, a 

perception shared by many people at 

the meeting. 

Michael Carson, who sits on the Pub 

lic Advisory Committee, said that he 

and Frank Mitchell, another PAC mem 

ber, had to push hard to have the ques 

tion of no growth be an option. 

lack of support shown by our elected 

officials. As of November 4, only 30 

people had indicated they would be 

coming to the Regional Summit, A 

Workshop for Elected Officials, where 

the OCP Option is to be discussed. This 

is to be held on Friday, Nov. 21 and 

Saturday, Nov. 22 at J.S. Willis 

School. 

The public can also attend as observ 

ers and if you wish to do so, contact 

the CRD Community Relations Office 

at 360-3228. Seating for observers is 

limited to 100. 

Our elected representatives should 

be attending this forum and working 

on tackling some ofour regional issues 

such as transportation, environmental 

protection and housing. 

What you can do: Phone your local 

mayor and councillors and ask them if 

they are planning to attend this impor 

tant summit. If they aren't planning to, 

ask them why not and if they support 

the Regional Growth Strategy. 

Most of the 40+ people in attend 

ance, who mainly represented environ 

mental or community groups, have de 

cided to form an ad hoc group with a 

goal to establishing a vision for the 

CRD that can be presented to the RGS. 

People were very concerned at the 

ANOTHER 60 GARRY OAK seedlings have been sent to Gabriola Island. 

Students of teacher Imelda Hedingham will plant them in Drumbeg Park this 

month. Gabriola Island students stand beside trees they planted in Spring 1997. 

Unfortunately, with no watering over summer, only half of the 60 seedlings trees 

survived. 

£ Garry Oak Leaflet

Go LRT! 

The expansion ofHighway 1 caused 

enormous environmental damage in 

some areas, including loss of a Garry 

oak meadow at the Millstream Inter 

change and large quantities of native 

flora alongside the highway. 

The Millstream Connector will cause 

even more damage because it will de 

stroy a wetland area. Does it even have 

to be built? Is there an alternative, even 

at this point after all the millions have 

been spent? 

loping Goose) 

• doesn't use expensive elevated rail 

bed (Example Vancouver's Skytrain) 

• no gas emissions 

• quiet operation 

• less land space used 

• could be used with park-and-ride fa 

cilities 

• parallel bicycle lanes could be pro 

vided alongside 

According to MacDonald, there is 

already considerable public support for 

LRT; unfortunately there is not the 

political support. We need to let both 

the CRD Regional Growth Strategy 

and our politicians at the Legislature 

know that continued highway expan 

sion is not the answer. 

To join the Greater Victoria Electric 

Society, write to Box 8737, Victoria, 

B.C. V8W 3S3 or phone 383-1171 or 

fax 383-2212. Memberships are $20 

adult, $10 student/senior, $50 corpo 

rate. E-mail envduck@pacificcoast.net 

According to the Greater Victoria 

Electric Railway Society, there is, and 

that is light rapid transit. 

For 12 years Society President Bill 

MacDonald has been lobbying for LRT 

and despite at least one prominent NDP 

supporter — Moe Sihota — highway 

expansion is seen by the current gov 

ernment as the way to go to solve local 

transportation woes. 

Yet, according to the Society's bro 

chure, "Canada has signed a treaty, the 

International Global Climate Change, 

to limit those gas emissions which 

cause climate change ... the transpor 

tation sector emits more than SO per 

cent of British Columbia's carbon di 

oxide, a prominent global change gas." 

With the CRD projecting another 

113,000 people by the year 2021, there 

will most certainly be a lot more cars 

choking the roads and highways unless 

there is a viable alternative. 

In the CRD RGS document 

analyzing the OCP Option, called 

"Challenges to Implementing the OCP 

Option", the writer notes under Trans 

portation Infrastructure: "The planned 

roadway improvement program would 

not provide sufficient capacity to ac 

commodate vehicular traffic in the 

Western Communities and the links 

between the Western Communities and 

Victoria." 

Advantages of LRT in the 

Capital Region 

• can use existing rights-of-way (Gal 

Tree preservation? Not in Victoria 

Once again, Victoria's lack of a tree Three years ago GOMPS member 

preservation bylaw has resulted in the 

loss of significant neighbourhood trees, 

this time two sequoias at Superior and 

Government streets. 

Although neighbours had been as Hie committee had asked for a com 

sured that the trees would remain when mitment from council that they wanted 

a 15-unit public housing project was a tree preservation bylaw, after a by 

built on the property, an arborist deter law was passed protecting trees adja 

mined that the roots would be damaged cent to the Selkirk Narrows in 1994. 

from excavation. No attempt was made 

to modify the housing plans; the 

chainsaw route was easier. 

City Councillor Pamela Madoffthen 

called for a task force to come up with 

a tree preservation bylaw. Not again! 

Where's the draft preservation bylaw 

that was supposed to be reviewed by 

the city solicitor? 

Notes continued from page 1 

a no-win situation. It was obvious from 

Langford Council's position that 

Costco was a sure thing in this loca 

tion, therefore we tried to get some 

habitat set aside. 

Better some than none, we thought. 

Nitya Harris, a Langford resident who 

set up the meetings with Jack Nelson, 

tried to set up a third meeting with him 

prior to the public hearing but he 

wasn't interested. He had told us dur 

ing our second site meeting that he 

wanted our support at the public hear 

ing, which we couldn't give. 

Tom Loring sat on the environment 

committee (since disbanded) which 

worked on the draft bylaw now 

mothballed somewhere at City Hall. 

Tom says councillors are extremely 

conservative about attempts to control 

what people do with private property. 

With the current outcry about the 

sequoias now is the time to pressure 

council to enact a bylaw. Write to 

Mayor Bob Cross and council at #1 

Centennial Square, Victoria, B.C. 

V8W 1P6. 

As a result ofme speaking to the Ur 

ban Restoration and Sustainable Agri 

culture class at UVic last month and 

an article written for the limes Colo 

nist's Environews in October, five stu 

dents have called for information. 

One student wants to do a term 

project on the survival rate of Garry 

oaks which have been planted since 

"Project Acorn" began in Fall 1992. 

That's information we'd like to have 

as we have not done any follow-up of 

the plantings, some ofwhich have been 

in the ground since 1993. 


More "Broom Bash" 

activities 

Not included in last month's Leaflet 

were six ivy removal work parties in 

John Dean Park. Three have already 

occurred on October 25, November 1 

and November 8. The other three are 

scheduled for November 15, 22 and 

29 from 9 a.m. to noon. For more in 

formation contact Edo Nyland at 656- 

9276. 

On November 16, Friends of Sum 

mit Park will be holding a Broom Bash 

in the park from noon-3 p.m. Come to 

the swings if you're interested in par 

ticipating. As incentive, there will be 

two raffles — one for adults and one 

for kids — which will be drawn at 3 

p.m. For more information contact 

Dierdre Gotto at 385-6359. 

Acorn planting 

Rob Hagel, technician at the Pacific 

Forestry Centre, says most of the 

acorns collected this year have already 

been sown.A high student on a work 

placement program has been helping 

him. Rob doesn't think that volunteers 

will be needed to sow the remainder. 

Advisory Committee 

members needed 

The Capital Regional District is look 

ing for people to sit on the new Re 

gional Water Supply, Protection and 

Conservation Advisory Committee. 

GOMPS was sent a letter inviting us to 

provide the name ofan individual want 

ing to be on the committee. 


ONGOING 









386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 










Vice-President Pierre d'EstruW 477-2410 










If you are interested, contact the 

Capital Regional District Water Depart 

ment, 479 Island Highway, B.C. V9B 

1H7 or phone 474-9600, fax 474-4012 

by November 14. 

NAME 

ADDRESS 


□ Donation 

Sidney bylaw 

We've been told that Sidney has re 

cently enacted a tree preservation by 

law, but it doesn't include Garry oaks. 

Apparently the director of parks rec 

ommended the inclusion of Garry oaks 

but the administrator didn't. We're try 

ing to find out more about this. 




□ Gift memberships, send receipt to: □ Gany Oak Inventory Project 




IARRY OAK LEAFLET 

newsletter of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society December 1997, VoM, Mo II 

Status of Sidney and Victoria tree preservation bylaws 


As mentioned in the November Leaf 

let, Sidney recently passed Sidney Tree 

Preservation Bylaw No. 1304. Only 

two species are protected: Douglas-fir 

(Pseudotsuga menziesii) and arbutus 

(Arbutus menziesii), which have a di 

ameter of 30 (12 in.) cm or more at 1.4 

m (4.5 ft.) height above ground level 

at the base of a tree. 

Also included are specifically listed 

significant, heritage and replacement 

trees, and trees "shown as to be re 

tained" or planted as part of a landscape 

plan, which form part of development 

permits. 

The bylaw doesn't specify what the 

penalties are, only that liability is ac 

cording to the "penalties set out in the 

Offence Act (of British Columbia)." 

Victoria 

According to a Times Colonist arti 

cle dated November 15, 1997, Victo 

ria councillors agreed at a committee 

of the whole meeting to pass a tree pro 

tection bylaw. 

Protected species are Garry oak and 

arbutus having a diameter of at least 

20 cm, and Pacific dogwood (Cornus 

nuttallii)f with single and multi-stems 

having a diameter each of at least 20 

cm. 

or subdivision application." 

We can't support this bylaw as it 

stands now. The whole city needs to 

be included in a comprehensive tree 

protection bylaw, not just specified ar 

eas. 

GOMPS member Andrew Laks sits 

on the Parks Committee and members 

were asked to comment on the bylaw 

by council at the December 3 commit 

tee meeting. 

Andrew says the committee will ad 

vise council that the bylaw is flawed 

and that more information is required. 

For example, there is nothing to stop a 

developer from buying a lot, razing the 

trees and then applying for a develop 

ment permit, thereby skirting the by 

law. 

The Parks Committee supported two 

positive suggestions that Andrew made 

and will forward these to council as 

well. One is to collect one per cent from 

the building, development and rezoning 

permit fees the city collects and to 

put that money in a fund to be used 

specifically for maintaining trees. 

Andrew's second suggestion is to 

maintain a Heritage Tree Registry and 

May the Spirit of Christmas 

bewithyouall 


The Board of Directors would like to thank everyone who has supported 

the efforts and objectives of the Carry Oak Meadow Preservation Society 

- present and past members, volunteers in the community who have 

particpated in "Broom Bashes", advocates who have spoken out at coun 

cil meetings and/or written letters, generous financial contributors to 

GOMPS and our Home Hawk Campaign, and municipal staff members 

who have recognized the importance of saving what's left of our Carry 

oak meadows. We are blessed indeed to live with such beauty and grate 

ful that some of this habitat has been protected. 

Hal, Janet, Katie, Paul, Pierre, Sharron and Tom 

The bylaw is limited only to: a) "any 

lot within a development permit area 

or a heritage conservation area desig 

nated in the Official Community Plan 

Bylaw, subject to a development per 

mit or heritage alteration permit," and 

b) "any lot that is subject to a rezoning, 

heritage revitalization agreement 


I

A letter from Environment Minister Cathy McGregor 

This was received in the second week 

ofNovember. 

— K.S. 

Thank you for your letters of May 

22 and August 15. 1997, regarding 

management of the Garry oak ecosys 

tems. Please accept my apology for the 

delay in responding to you. I, too, ap 

preciated the opportunity to speak with 

you about these matters earlier this 

summer [a 5-minute "briefing* at the 

CPAWS conference in April]. 

As you are aware, the remaining sites 

of these ecosystems are invariably on 

private lands which are subject to lo 

cal governments" land use planning and 

development control programs. 

In recent years, this government has 

provided local governments with in 

creasingly effective tools to heighten 

environmental stewardship levels. 

With regard to vegetation, for in 

stance, tree cutting controls were re 

stored to municipalities in 1992. and 

landscape development controls fol 

lowed shortly afterwards. 

Major changes have also been made 

to the Municipal Act in Bill 26, the 

Local Government States Amendment 

Act, 1997. 

For example, under Bill 26, section 

909 enables local governments to set 

suitable landscaping standards for en 

vironmental protection purposes: "A 

local government may, by bylaw, re 

quire, set standards for and regulate the 

provision of screening or landscaping 

for one or more of the following rea 

sons: ... (b) preserving, protecting, re 

storing and enhancing the natural en 

vironment." It is anticipated that this 

Bill will be proclaimed this fall. 

Environmental stewardship in devel 

oped and developing areas can often 

be a complex challenge, however, for 

local elected officials and their staff 

who may be called upon to meet a 

range of competing interests and pri 

orities with limited funding. Similarly, 

the interests and concerns of individual 

land owners suddenly faced with new 

regulations or additional financial re 

quirements must also be addressed. 

Effective community and landownerbased 

environmental stewardship 

therefore requires careful planning and 

development at the local level in part 

nership with both the needs of the ac 

tual property owners of sensitive eco 

systems, and importantly, general com 

munity support. 

As you may be aware, the govern 

ment has completed its Goal 2 acqui 

sition plans for Vancouver Island, 

though some opportunities may exist 

in the Gulf Islands through the efforts 

of the Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy. 

More and more, attention is being 

given to community and private land 

stewardship programs as a means of 

protecting these unique ecosystems. 

Ministry staff are now working in 

cooperation with the Canadian Wild 

life Service and the Growth Strategies 

Office of the Ministry of Municipal 

Affairs and Housing on a conservation 

strategy to help protect sensitive eco 

systems, including Garry oak commu 


nities, on the east coast of Vancouver 

Island and the Gulf Islands. Technical 

guides are being prepared for the pro 

tection and management of these ar 

eas through local governments. It is 

expected that the inventory for these 

ecosystem communities will be avail 

able this fall, and the guides prepared 

over the next year. 

Clearly, legislation, information and 

technical guidance are all key compo 

nents to achieving effective environ 

mental stewardship of our precious 

land resource. 

Ultimately, however, the most suc 

cessful conclusions to our endeavours 

will be as a result of the awareness, 

conviction and involvement of indi 

viduals like you. In this regard, I very 

much hope that you and your members 

will continue to stay involved in these 

important community initiatives. I very 

much appreciated receiving your com 

ments on these issues. 

Yours sincerely, 

Cathy McGregor 

Minister 


It will be nice when Central 

Saanich's 25-acre Garry oak 

meadow park, recently acquired from 

FAMA, gets a name. For now, I'll con 

tinue calling it the FAMA Garry oak 

meadow. At the December 1 council 

meeting, the clerk-administrator rec 

ommended that council allocate 

$ 10,000 to hire a consultant to prepare 

a park management plan, "with the 

project to be undertaken in consulta 

tion with a stakeholder advisory group 

as recommended by the Advisory Plan 

ning Commission. "That money may be 

used in other ways, such as the inven 

tory. Council recommended that a ten 

der be called or else community groups 

could be involved in the process. 

Watch for the Hutchison 

development proposal to 

come before Saanich Committee of 

the Whole soon, probably on Decem 

ber 15. This 12.7 acre property, the 

estate of the late Bruce Hutchison, is 

bounded by Lily Avenue, Rogers Av 

enue, Martin Road and Quadra Street. 

There are two areas of Garry oaks we 

hope to see preserved: one contains a 

native shrub and herb understorey and 

the other contains oaks on rocky out 

crops overrun with blackberry. There 

are also some specimen Garry oaks. 

Family spokesman Ross Meek came 

to our last Board meeting on Novem 

ber 27 and showed us the family's lat 

est plans. 

? Garry Oak Leaflet

How to Remove Broom: The Short Answer 

Part 6: Information and Media Management 

By Eric Redekop 

Once permission is obtained and a 

work plan developed, three final prepa 

rations precede the first work event 

About a month earlier, write to any 

media outlet in the area which provides 

free public service announcements. 

The request should include the exact 

wording of the proposed announce 

ment, as it would typically appear if 

published; respect space limits. Always 

include a telephone number people can 

call for more information, and try to 

identify any project sponsors or part 

ners. 

Remember that most media reserve 

the right to limit their selection of free 

announcements, so contact with a wide 

variety of outlets will directly influence 

the level of public exposure and sup 

port for the project. 

If contacted by reporters to comment 

regarding broom removal, always re 

frain from giving technical instruction 

without reference to a specific context. 

Refer instead to the general or strate 

gic objectives ofa specific project (e.g. 

to clear the east side by January). 

The major problem with talking to 

reporters is that not everything spoken 

gets reported, and much that is reported 

is inaccurate because writers and edi 

tors leave out material they feel is ir 

relevant or unimportant. 

This is partly why a removal event 

should be called a "broom bash" rather 

than a "broom pull" or "broom cut"; 

reference to technique only perpetuates 

the public misconception that one tech 

nique is appropriate for any occasion 

and all situations. 

Indeed, "How to Remove Broom" 

has become a series of six articles (so 

far) to help volunteers and project lead 

ers deal more effectively with this is 

sue. Finally, if a photographer or a 

video crew shows up at an event, they 

should be closely escorted at all times. 

Never allow a journalist to record vol 

unteers carrying out work improperly 

(e.g. cutting in winter, pulling in sum 

mer, dragging debris on ground). 

Notices to neighbours 

For projects in public parks, some 

attempt should be made to notify the 

neighbours. Generally speaking, there 

are two kinds of notices. The first no 

tice should be delivered to every resi 

dential address within a reasonable dis 

tance of the park, whenever a new 

project is initiated or when a new sea 

son of activity is about to commence 

(e.g. late June, late September). 

This notice should describe the na 

ture, location and timing ofproject ac 

tivities, and provide contact names and 

numbers for project leaders and mu 

nicipal staff nvolved in project plan 

ning. A similar notice should also be 

delivered to every residential address 

within direct view of any removal ac 

tivities (including debris staging), 

within the preceding month. 

As debris accumulates, keep munici 

pal staff advised of staging locations 

and the nature of debris left for dis 

posal. Broom debris should be stacked 

with stem butts facing one way, while 

blackberry and ivy debris mst be piled 

separately for special treatment. 

Blackberry thorns make compost 

handling hazardous, so debris must be 

burned or dumped in a landfill; Eng 

lish ivy must be dead, dead, dead be 

fore chipping and addition to the com 

post stream, so debris may not be re 

moved from the site for several weeks 

or even months. 

In the meantime, the piles may ap 

pear untidy, so previous notice to mu 

nicipal staff allows criticism and com 

plaints from affected neighbours or 

oflier park users to be redirected away 

from the project itself. 

Recruiting volunteers 

For most project leaders, the last step 

in preparation, recruiting volunteers, 

will become an ongoing activity almost 

as arduous as actually bashing broom. 

Obvious sources ofvolunteers include 

park neighbours, schools and commu 

nity service groups. Retired Canadians 

not only have time to write letters of 

support for removal projects, but many 

are still physically active and enjoy 

working outdoors. 

Sometimes, criminals sentenced to 

community service are referred to com 

munity groups or projects; these vol 

unteers can be used for work in remote 

areas and may actually prefer to work 

independently and without direct su 

pervision. Contact local environmen 

tal advocacy groups and keep every 

one, especially the media, informed 

regarding project progress. 

Keep a current list of volunteer ad 

dresses and phone numbers, and try to 

get through calling everyone as often 

as possible. If possible, arrange a "tel 

ephone tree" or conscript a volunteer 

or two to make a phone blitz for spe 

cific events. Try to develop routine 

channels for providing information to 

the public and volunteers about your 

project and prepare your media notices 

as far in advance as possible. 

Media which may provide free pub 

lic service announcements include 

Monday Magazine, 

Victoria Colonist, 

Victoria Naturalist, Field Naturalist, 

Globe & Trail, Shaw Community 

Messageboard, and the News Group 

papers. 

Of course, the GOMPS Leaflet 

should be at the top of this list. 

Finally, remember that GOMPS an 

nually sponsors the City-Wide Broom 

Bash, from the Thanksgiving holiday 

weekend through the end of Novem 

ber. Over this period, volunteer work 

events all around the region are coor 

dinated and widely promoted to maxi 

mize volunteer contributions and to 

improve public awareness ofthe prob- 



Tree preservation bylaws from page 1 

monies from the above-mentioned 

funds could be used to maintain the 

trees in the registry. 

For example, last year we received a 

call from a woman living in Rockland 

who wanted to take the ivy off a large 

Garry oak on her property but was de 

terred by the $700 cost. Ifher tree were 

registered, she might get assistance 

with the cost. 

Broom from page 3 

lems associated with exotic plants in 

native habitats. 

Whether small or large, participating 

groups feel a sense of comradeship 

with others struggling elsewhere in the 

region, and a greater sense of recogni 

tion for what is often thankless and al 

ways challenging work. 

Since 1995, this program has grown 

from 12 events in 8 locations over four 

weekends to more than 30 events in 17 

locations over eight weeks in 1997; 

even more growth is expected for 1998. 

Virtually ignored by local media for the 

first two years, in 1997 the program 

received local exposure in newspapers 

and on television, and national expo 

sure on CBC radio. 

By now it should be obvious that 

there are many activities associated 

with invasive plant control beyond ac 

tually bashing and hauling, which pro 

vide opportunities for everyone to con 

tribute to the effort. Among those iden 

tified above are delivery of notices to 

neighbours, media and parks staff, and 

regular communication with volun 

teers. 

In "How to Remove Broom: The 

Short Answer, Part 7: Everyone can 

help!" I will describe some of the other 

ways. 


ONGOING 









386-4792. 






NEWSLETTER 



















NAME 

ADDRESS 



□Donation 

□ Individual $ 15 Q Family $20 Please send more information about: 

□ Youth and Associate $6 (no newsletter) □ Local sources for Gany oak meadow plants 


□ Gany Oak Inventory Project 

The next GOMPS Board of Direc 

tors meeting will be on January 15 

at 7:30 p.m. at Janet Simpson's. 




A CHRISTMAS IDEA FROM 

THE LAND CONSERVANCY! 

GIVE SOMETHING LASTING! 

ADOPT AN ACRE 

ON A CONSERVANCY PROJECT IN 

BRITISH COLUMBIA. 

When you adopt an acre in a TLC project you will be sure that your payment will go directly to the purchase, 

protection or ongoing stewardship of that particular project. Once a property is purchased or protected by a 

conservation covenant your donation is used to help pay the annual costs associated with that project, for example 

property taxes if applicable, monitoring (inspection and recording costs), maintenance of signs or fences etc. 

In some cases it will be possible for you to actually visit the acre, in other cases where it is private property with a 

covenant you will not be able to access it unless you are working as a volunteer monitor for The Conservancy. 

A perfect gift for the that special person who cares as deeply about our mission of protecting biodiversity on earth as 

you do, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping us in our work. 

Gift recipients will receive a certificate containing the specific description and location of the project and their acre. 

You will receive a receipt for income tax purposes. (88902 8338 RR0001) 

YES, I THINK THAT IS AGREAT IDEA. 

PERSON AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT. 

I WISH TO ADOPT AN ACRE IN THE NAME OF THE FOLLOWING 

NAME: 

ADDRESS: 

PHONE NO: 

I WISH TO ADOPT ACRES @ $25.00 PER ACRE FOR THIS PERSON 

WOULD YOU LKE US TO SEND THE CERTIFICATE TO YOU AND LET YOU FORWARD IT, OR WOULD 

YOU PREFER IF WE SENT IT DIRECTLY TO THE RECIPIENT? SENDITTOME _ SEND IT DIRECTLY 

IF YOU WANT US TO SEND IT DIRECTLY, HOW DO YOU WANT US TO SHOW YOUR NAME: 

ON THE GIFT CARD. 

YOU MAY LIST ADDITIONAL GIFTS ON THE BACK OF THIS SHEET. 

ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTIONS: 

YOUR NAME:__ 

YOUR ADDRESS. 

CHEQUEFORS. 

PLEASE CHARGE $ 

CARD NUMBER: 

YOf TR SIGNATURE: 

PHONE NO ( ). 

IS ENCLOSED 

"TO MY VISA CARD OR TO MY MASTERCARD. 

EXPIRYDATE 

MAIL TO. TLC THE LAND CONSERVANCY, 5793 OLD WEST SAANICH ROAD, VICTORIA, B.C. V8X 3X3, 

OR FAX TO: (250) 744-2251. 

FOR INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE A PICK-UP OF THIS FORM PHONE (250)361-7693

A CHRISTMAS IDEA FROM 

THE LAND CONSERVANCY 

GIVE SOMETHING LASTING! 

CONSIDER GIVING A MEMBERSHIP IN THE LAND 

CONSERVANCY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. 

IT IS THE PERFECT GIFT FOR THE THAT SPECIAL PERSON WHO CARES AS 

DEEPLY ABOUT OUR MISSION OF PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY ON EARTH 

AS YOU DO, AND YOU WILL HAVE THE SATISFACTION OF KNOWING THAT 

YOU ARE HELPING US IN OUR WORK. GIFT MEMBERSHIPS WILL BE 

ANNOUNCED BY A SPECIAL CARD TO THE RECIPIENT. YOU WILL RECEIVE 

A RECEIPT FOR INCOME TAX PURPOSES. 

YES, I THINK THAT IS A GREAT IDEA. I WISH TO GIVE THE FOLLOWING PERSON A 

MEMBERSHIP IN THE LAND CONSERVANCY FOR CHRISTMAS. 

NAME: 

ADDRESS: 

PHONE NUMBER: 

MEMBERSHIP TYPE: INDIVIDUAL $35.00 

FAMILY $50.00 

SENIOR $15.00 

STUDENT $15.00 

WOULD YOU LIKE US TO SEND THE CARD TO YOU AND LET YOU FILL IT IN, OR WOULD 

YOU PREFER IF WE SENT IT DIRECTLY TO THE NEW MEMBER? SENDITTOME 

SEND IT DIRECTLY 

IF YOU WANT US TO SEND IT DIRECTLY, HOW DO YOU WANT US TO SHOW YOUR NAME: 

YOU MAY LIST ADDITIONAL GIFTS ON A SHEET OF PAPER. 

ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTIONS: 

YOUR NAME: 

YOUR ADDRESS 

YOUR PHONE NUMBER ( ) 

HOW DO YOU WANT TO PAY? 

CHEQUE FOR $ 

IS ENCLOSED 

PLEASE CHARGE $ 

CARD NUMBER: 

EXPIRY DATE 

YOUR SIGNATURE: 

TOMY VISA CARD OR TO MY MASTERCARD. 

MAIL THIS FORM TO TLC THE LAND CONSERVANCY, 5793 OLD WEST SAANICH ROAD, 

VICTORIA, B.C. V8X 3X3, OR FAX TO (250) 744-2251.

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